


Taken

by Improvise22



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Brainwashing, Captivity, Flashbacks, Gen, Hospitalization, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Restraints, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:27:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 102,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25825111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Improvise22/pseuds/Improvise22
Summary: Mac's estranged father comes back into his life and turns his world upside down. It takes all he has to come back from what his father's put him through, but with the teams help, hopefully he can put himself back together.
Comments: 323
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my fist MacGyver story, I've only recently come across the series and am loving it. This is also my first post on this site, it's a little different than I'm used to so I hope everything posts ok. I had a lot of fun writing this, hope other people enjoy it too. I'll aim to post a couple of chapters a day, it's a long one.

Mac was awoken to the sound of banging, as if someone were trying to knock his front door down, he glanced at the clock and was shocked to see that it was 3am. Who the hell was visiting at that time? His first thought was that it was his partner and he became concerned, however there had been no message or call so that was probably unlikely. Figuring that the only way to know would be to answer the door, he got out of bed, put on a hoody and walked to the front door.

After a slight hesitation, (maybe letting some stranger in at that hour wasn’t the best idea) Mac opened the door and came face to face with his father.

“Dad?”

“Hello Angus.”

Mac just stood in the doorway frozen to the spot, the last person he expected to see was the man that had abandoned him when he was twelve years old. He was shaken out of his shock when James pushed past him into the house.

“What do you want?” Mac asked, not sure if he should hinder the man’s entrance.

“We need to talk.” James replied. “Are you alone?”

“Bozer is away for the weekend, you remember him, don’t you?”

“Wilt, he was a good kid, good friend to you.”

“I’m surprised you noticed.” Mac replied, anger taking over from his recent shock. “Why are you here, at 3am? How did you know where I lived?”

“I told you, we need to talk,” James said, walking further into the house and expecting his son to follow. “This was your grandfather’s house; I know he left it to you.”

“How?”

“That’s not important right now. You’re in danger Angus and I’ve come to help, shall I make us a hot drink?”

“Danger from who? And how are you going to help? Where have you been all these years?” Mac had more questions to ask but he thought he shouldn’t bombard his father with too many at once.

He followed him into the kitchen, watching as James put on the kettle and took out mugs from the cupboard, he wasn’t really sure why he was letting him take over his kitchen when he hadn’t seen the man in so long, he guessed he was still in shock.

“It’s hard to explain, let’s sit down and I’ll try.” Pouring water from the finished kettle.

James motioned for Mac to proceed him into the living room, causing his son to miss the pill he dropped into one of the drinks. James followed and handed Mac the dosed cup, taking a seat in the chair opposite him.

“Drink up, you look like you could use it,” James said, sipping his own drink.

Mac wasn’t especially interested in drinking anything but he did, hoping that it would get his father talking, maybe it would even help wake him up a little, he was still slightly unsure if he was even awake or if this was some strange dream.

“I know all about the Phoenix Foundation, what sort of things you get up to,” James said, setting down his mug on the coffee table.

“It’s a think tank,” Mac replied, not sure how else to respond.

“You and I both know that’s not true. I used to work for the CIA, so I know a thing or two about clandestine operations.”

“CIA?” Of all the things his father could have said, CIA wasn’t even on Mac’s radar.

“Yes. It’s the reason I left. I couldn’t put you in that kind of danger anymore. Of course, now that you’re an agent yourself you know what I’m talking about.”

“I would never abandon my son!” Mac exclaimed. “You didn’t even say goodbye”

“Angus I’m sorry, but we can’t get into that right now. We need to leave, you’re in danger and I need to get you somewhere safe.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that, and I am sorry that it had to come to this.” James stood and took the mug out of Mac’s hand seeing that his eyes were starting to lose focus.

“What, what…. did you…. do?” Mac asked, finding it harder to keep his eyes open.

“I gave you a sedative. Don’t worry I’ll explain everything in more detail when we get away from here.”

Mac tried his best to get up, to get away from his father, if he could just stay awake then maybe everything would be ok. Unfortunately, being half asleep and being drugged wasn’t making it easy, he fell to his knees as soon as he tried to get away from the sofa. The last thing he saw before darkness overtook him was his father and he didn’t like the way he was looking at him.

The first thing Mac was aware of was that he was lying on something a lot more comfortable that his living room floor, he slowly opened his eyes a little nervous as to what he might find.

He was expecting a bedroom of some kind, maybe find he was lying on a sofa, what he didn’t anticipate was a mattress in the middle of a basement. He sat up and pushed away the blanket that was covering him, intending to get up and explore. The manacle and chain attached to his ankle made him stop, what the hell? Without warning his breathing started to quicken, why had his father brought him wherever he was and locked him up, he said he wanted to help him. Maybe his father only said that to make him relax, who knew what he’d been up to since they’d last seen each other, he could be a criminal.

Panicking wasn’t going to help the situation, so he took a few deep breaths, focus MacGyver. He was just about to get up and search the room, surely there was something there he could pick the lock with, when the door opened, and his father came in.

“You’re awake,” James said, coming down the stairs.

“What the hell is going on?” Mac asked, immediately standing, not wanting to be vulnerable around the older man.

“Sit Angus and I’ll explain.”

“I’d rather stand. I would walk around, but looks like that’s out of the question,” Mac replied, adding a lot of sarcasm to the last sentence.

“You can walk around Angus, there’s enough slack, but not too much.”

James sat on the bottom step, rolling the bottle of water he had in his hand over to the mattress.

“I thought you might be thirsty. Don’t worry, it’s not drugged.”

Mac looked at the bottle and then up at his father, he was thirsty, it felt like something had died in his mouth. Part of him wanted to kick it back, but he knew that he needed to keep himself hydrated. He bent down and picked it up, taking a long drink and then placing it back on the floor.

“You said you were going to explain.”

“You’re right. Firstly, I want to apologize for where we are, the only reason I’ve had to do this is because I know that you won’t want to stay and that is imperative to keeping you safe. I thought about locking you in a room upstairs but there are too many things you could use to pick a lock. This was the only way.”

“Great thanks, the first time I’ve seen you in over ten years and you chain me up in your basement to keep me safe, makes perfect sense.”

Mac couldn’t believe what he was hearing, the man was crazy.

“Believe me Angus I’m not enjoying this.” James sighed, running his hands through his hair and spoke again. “There are people after me and they won’t hesitate to go after you to get to me.”

“So, this is your way of protecting me?” Mac asked. “Well I’m sorry to say but it’s ridiculous!! I could have gone into protective custody, helped you track down the people who are after you, anything but this. Tell me what the plan is if they find us here? I won’t be able to help you or myself.”

“They won’t find us. This is the only way.” James got up and started walking towards Mac, his countenance completely changing. “You will stay here; do as you’re told and be grateful that I’m bothering protecting you.”

Mac backed up slightly, not sure what had made the man switch his emotions so abruptly. He really should just nod, or say ok, knowing that answering back was not the best idea. He did neither of those things though. “Or what?” came out of his mouth instead.

The reply was a fist to the face, knocking him off his feet onto the mattress. He scrambled backwards, thinking that there would be more hits, but James was already walking up the stairs.

The door shut with a bang and there was a sound of a key turning. Mac sat up and rubbed his jaw, his father had hit him hard. He really wanted to cry in that moment, suddenly feeling like the little boy who had been abandoned by his father. But he wouldn’t, he was an adult, a trained agent and he would find a way out of this basement and find his way home, however long it took.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team find out Mac is missing and Mac's day goes from bad to worse

Jack knocked on Mac’s front door and then pushed it open. “Yo Mac where you at?” He received no reply, so he walked through the house thinking maybe his friend was out on the deck. No sign of Mac there, maybe he was in the shower. He placed the bakery bag on the kitchen counter and walked towards Mac’s bedroom, knocking before entering, not wanting to walk in on the dude naked. No one in there either.

His spidey senses were now tingly, where was his friend. This didn’t feel like Mac had just gone out and forgotten to lock the door, he hadn’t answered the text and call that Jack had sent him and his Jeep was still out front. He looked around the room and found Mac’s phone on the bedside table and his heart started beating a little faster.

He immediately began a more thorough search of the house, hoping that he’d missed something obvious when he came in. The only thing he saw that he thought was a little strange was two mugs on the drainer, did Mac have company last night? After searching the house twice and not finding anything, he got out his phone to call in the team. To a civilian this would look like overkill, but to someone in Jack’s line of work minutes could mean a lot if Mac had really been taken.

Fifteen minutes later Riley, Cage and Matty arrived to find Jack pacing on the deck.

“Dalton, what the hell is going on?” Matty exclaimed, he hadn’t explained much over the phone.

“Mac’s missing.”

“Missing?” Riley asked. “What happened?”

“I turned up here and the door was unlocked but there was no sign on Mac. His Jeep is parked out front and his phone’s still by his bed like he put it there before he went to sleep. I’ve searched the place from top to bottom, but I can’t find anything out of place, it’s like he just vanished.”

“Are you sure he’s just not out for a run and forgot to lock the door?” Cage asked, always the voice of reason.

“His running shoes are exactly where he usually keeps them, and his keys and wallet are on the table in the hall. I’m telling you, he’s missing, and we have no idea for how long.”

“Ok, I’m inclined to agree with Jack,” Matty said getting out her phone. “I’ll call in an evidence team, there might be something that’s been overlooked. Riley can you look at traffic cam footage, see if there’s anything suspicious.”

“I’m on it.”

Jack sat at the fire pit, a look of anguish on his face, if anything happened to Mac, he’d never forgive himself.

“We’ll find him,” Cage said, sitting down beside him.

“How?” Jack asked. “We don’t even know what time he went missing, and if it was right around the time he went to bed, then that’s twelve hours. Do you know what can happen in twelve hours!!”

“I know it’s hard, but you need to keep it together, until we know anything for sure.”

Jack nodded, knowing that she was right, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was never going to see Mac again.

An hour later and the evidence team were wrapping up, they hadn’t found anything out of place, but they’d taken fingerprints from various places. They took the mugs with them for analysis, hoping that they would find DNA or fingerprints, even though they’d been washed. Riley hadn’t come up with anything either, there were quite a few cars that had come and gone in the timeframe and she was still searching records. Unfortunately, twelve hours was a long time and there was a lot of traffic so they could only wait.

“I can’t sit here and wait, I need to do something,” Jack said, pacing across the deck again.

“I hate to say it, but there isn’t a lot to do, until we get a lead,” Matty replied.

“I could go ask the neighbours if they saw anything, that’s what they police would do.”

“And what are you going to say?”

“I’ll tell them that Mac’s missing and ask if they saw anything. I’m not gonna give anything away Matty, most of them know I’m Mac’s friend.”

Matty knew that Jack needed to be doing something, he wasn’t the sort of person that was good sitting around. “Take Cage with you.”

Jack nodded and walked through the house and out of the door, not waiting to see if Cage followed.

“Keep an eye on him,” Matty said to Cage as she walked past. “We’ll head back to Phoenix; I’ll call you if we find anything.”

“Same.” Cage replied, following the same path as Jack and catching up to him. She just prayed that they found something soon, she hated to think what was happening to Mac at that moment, her mind couldn’t come up with anything good.

Cage wouldn’t have guessed in a million years that Mac’s father had abducted him and he was currently in the middle of nowhere chained up in the basement of a small house.

Mac knew though, except the middle of nowhere part, although that was probably obvious. He was currently testing the slack on the chain and circling the room, seeing if there was anything lying around that he could use to pick the lock on the manacle. He’d fallen back to sleep not long after his father had left, blaming the sedative that was in his system, now he was alert and ready to get out of there. So far he’d come up empty, his father had done a really good job of stripping the room, there was literally nothing there except the mattress and a bucket in the corner of the room, that he guessed would be his equivalent of a toilet. He couldn’t even use the paperclip he knew was in his hoody when he put it on, as he realised after his father had left he was wearing different clothes, which was a little disturbing, his father had really been thorough.

There wasn’t even a window that he could look out of or escape through if he got free, just four blank walls. He walked up to the staircase, reaching the first step before the chain had no more give, not that walking up the stairs at the minute was an option. He instead searched the wood for any loose nails, jumping backwards when he heard the key in the lock, he didn’t want his father suspecting what he was doing.

James came down the stairs, carrying a plate, he put in on floor halfway between the stairs and the mattress and started walking backwards.

“It’s not much but you have to eat, I’ll be back for the plate later.”

“Wait, is that it? You bring me food and then leave, how long is this going to go on for?”

“As long as it takes.”

“You can’t keep me here, not even to keep me safe. You know it’s not right.”

“You won’t have to stay down here forever; you’ll soon learn that it’s in your best interests to stay here and then you can come up to the house. But that will take some time. That’s ok, we have plenty.”

“I’m not going to just suddenly be ok with being a prisoner, you have to know that.”

“Oh, I know they’ll be some lessons learnt, you have to do what you need to, and I have to do the same. I’ll be back later for the plate.”

Mac watched his father go out the door again, more confused than he was the last time, what did that little speech mean. It was almost like he knew I would try to escape and that he wanted me to do it. Well he didn’t want to disappoint him. He would eat the sandwich, then find a nail, pick the lock and hope that he made it out of the door before his father found out. He was positive he could take him, especially if he had the element of surprise.

Plan in place Mac felt a little better, he sat down to eat the sandwich and suddenly realised how hungry he was.

He wondered if the team was missing him yet, he had no idea what time it was, although he guessed it was late morning. He knew Jack would be around for lunch, they’d talked about taking a drive, so at least it wouldn’t be another day before he was missed. He couldn’t wait around though, he needed to get himself out of the mess he was in.

Food eaten he got up to find a nail, discovering one after a few minutes searching, he quickly unlocked the manacle and headed up the stairs. The lock on the door would be a little trickier but something he could do in his sleep, he unlocked it and listened to make sure the coast was clear. Unfortunately James had been waiting for him, as soon as he opened the door and walked out he wrapped his arm around his neck and pulled him against him, tilting his head to the side he pushed a needle into his neck and Mac went limp. James let him drop to the floor, shaking his head, knowing this wouldn’t be the first time his son tried to escape and hoping that he was ready the next time he made an attempt.


	3. Chapter 3

When Mac woke up again it was a similar experience to the first time, he was lying on something soft and when he opened his eyes he was in the same basement as before. He sat up, no blanket this time, blinking a few times to stop the dizziness that overcame him. His neck hurt where the needle had gone in, he certainly hadn’t been expecting that, something to factor in next time. He half expected to find James sitting on the stairs waiting for him to wake up, but he was alone.

He picked up the water bottle which was still there from earlier and took a drink, he then got up needing to relieve himself, it was a wonder he hadn’t wet himself when he dropped to the floor upstairs. As he started walking towards the bucket, he noticed that it had been moved closer to the mattress, that wasn’t the only thing that was different, the chain he was attached to was now shorter. He sighed; he would test it in a moment, but he guessed that it meant he would no longer be able to reach the stairs. He supposed if he were keeping someone prisoner and they had attempted to escape that way then he would have done the same thing, not that he had a habit of keeping people prisoner in cold basements.

He had just made the attempt to reach the stairs, yes, the chain was now too short to reach, when the door opened.

“I wondered what you would use first to pick the lock, a nail was a good choice, got that manacle off pretty quick.” James said, speaking almost as if he was proud.

“The needle was a nice touch, certainly wasn’t expecting that.” Mac replied, sitting down on the mattress.

“Well I didn’t think you’d be interested in a drink while you were trying to escape. It was the fastest way to stop you and get you back down here.”

“How long was I out?”

“A couple of hours, it wasn’t a high dose.” James leaned against the wall by the stairs. “I don’t want to have to keep drugging you Angus, but I will if I you give me no choice.”

“Let me go and you won’t have to worry about it.”

“You and I both know that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Why don’t you just agree to stay here where it’s safe and you can come upstairs. You can have your own room, plenty to eat and drink.”

“Ok then, lead the way.” Mac thought if his father were serious then he could pretend to be happy to stay, then escape when he let his guard down.

James laughed. “You agreed to that far too quickly, which means you’ll try and leave the minute my back is turned. I obviously can’t have that, so I guess you’ll be staying down here for a while longer.”

“I won’t try to escape, if you let me come up, we can talk, you can tell me about the people who are trying to kill you. Maybe I can help.”

“Kill me?” James asked, looking confused. “No one is trying to kill me Angus.” He began to walk up the stairs. “Why would you think that?”

Before Mac could reply he’d gone through the door. He laid down, suddenly dizzy again, had his father made the whole thing up to get him here. But if he had then why was he here and why did he keep saying that he had to stay where it was safe? He was so confused and the drugs still in his system weren’t helping. He decided to get some sleep before he made another escape attempt, actual sleep rather than drug induced. Maybe things would be clearer when he woke up.

Back at the Phoenix Foundation, Jack was pacing in the war room, him and Cage had finished their talk with the neighbours, and it hadn’t revealed anything new, so it was back to waiting. Jack hated waiting, he needed to be doing something, anything, especially when one of his kids was in danger.

“Jack please stop, you’re making me nauseas,” Riley said, looking up from her rig. “I know you’re worried, we all are.”

“I can’t just sit around Ri. I can’t be useful here, I can’t do the digital thing like you can, I can’t look through evidence like Boze, I need to be doing something.”

“I know Jack, believe me I know, but until we have some sort of lead there isn’t anywhere for you to go. At the minute we can’t even narrow down an area to look, for all we know they’re not even in the country anymore!!”

“Do you really believe that?” Jack asked, finally sitting on one of the sofas.

“Honestly, I’ve no idea. Technically there’s been plenty of time, Mac could literally be anywhere,” Riley replied, her voice breaking slightly, tears in her eyes. “Oh god Jack what if we can’t find him.”

“Hey hey kiddo, we’ll find him,” Jack said, getting up and sitting beside the girl he thought of as a daughter. “We won’t stop until we find him, no matter where he is and how long it takes, now put those tears away and do what you do best.”

Riley leaned into Jack, getting her emotions under control, she knew he was right, if only they had some sort of lead, something she could work with.

As if the universe was listening Matty and Cage walked through the door, Matty touching the glass to close off the room. “We have a problem.”

“Is this to do with Mac?” Jack asked, not knowing what he’d do if she said otherwise.

“The techs managed to lift some DNA off one of the mugs, it wasn’t what I was expecting and I’m not sure what it means.”

“Whose DNA was it?” Riley asked, already logging into the server to get the information up herself.

“James MacGyver, Mac’s father.”

Jack and Riley both froze the instant Matty said that name, Jack recovered first.

“That son of a bitch, he took Mac!”

“Jack, we don’t know what happened, maybe Mac went with him willingly,” Matty answered, the way she said it meaning she didn’t quite believe it herself.

“No way. You don’t believe that, do you?”

Matty paused, knowing that she needed to come clean with her team about what she knew about Mac’s father. If Mac had been kidnapped by the man, then they needed all the facts.

“Mac would have contacted us by now if he’d gone with him, even if it was just to let us know that he was ok, he’d know we’d be freaking out,” Jack said, after waiting for Matty to speak.

“I know.” Matty replied, walking up to the screen that was the heart of the war room. “In order for us to find Mac, there are certain things about James’s past that you need to be filled in about. I just hope you can forgive me for not telling everyone about this sooner.”

Jack and Riley looked at each other, both uncertain what Matty could possibly know about Mac’s father and then back at the screen as it filled with information. Cage sat off to the side, already knowing what Matty was about to tell the others.

“James MacGyver is ex CIA, I worked with him for a while when I was first starting out.”

“Are you serious!” Jack exclaimed, jumping up and starting to pace again. “You knew all this time and you never told Mac.”

“It was trying to protect him Jack, I didn’t want him knowing some of the things his father did.”

“He went bad?” Riley asked, trying to take in as much information as she could.

“Not exactly, he did some bad things and he went dark over ten years ago, but it was because he was sick.”

“Sick?”

“He was never officially diagnosed, but after a number of psych evals and looking back over ops he was assigned, it was determined that he had some sort of multi personality disorder.” Matty herself sat down after this, looking distraught. “Before anyone could get him any help, he went off the grid and no one has heard from him since. Some say it was the pressure of too many years as a field agent, some say he always had it and hid it well, it’s hard to say. A lot of people believed that he’d died, not thinking that he could stay off the grid so long with that many problems, but obviously that’s not the case.”

“And now Mac is with him,” Jack said, running his hands down his face. “What do you think it means, that he’s taken him now?”

“I’ve no idea. Unfortunately, we’ve no way of knowing how badly he’s deteriorated. I suppose seeing as he knew where Mac lived and has taken him with no trace, he must still have most of his faculties still intact. Beyond that, I can’t say.”

“Even though we now know who took Mac, it still doesn’t get us any closer,” Riley said, hating to say those words. “If James has been dark for ten years he knows how to hide. I don’t know how we’re gonna find him.”

“We need to learn all about him, go through his files, speak to whoever we need to. There must be some clue,” Jack replied, walking up to the screen.

“I’ll get anything we need, some of it will be classified so it mustn’t leave this room, but if it helps us find Mac, we need to have it.” Matty got to her feet, pulling out her phone. It was time to pull in a few favours.

Mac was currently sitting trying to come up with a plan to escape, the only thing he could think that he might be able to use to pick the lock for a second time was a spring from the mattress. The only problem was mattresses weren’t that easy to rip apart with your bare hands, he had tried a couple of times, looking for any weak spots but didn’t have much luck. Looked like he was going to have to find something to cut it with, perhaps next time he was brought some food he could use the plate.

Confident of the plan all he could do was wait, which wasn’t exactly what he did best. He sat for a little while, going over the plan in his head a few times, making sure that it was as good as it could be. He then paced, which was harder to do than before, the chain being that much shorter. He finally sat down again, knowing that he’d need energy to complete his plan. He thought that it was probably evening, he was starting to feel hungry again and figured that soon his father would bring him down some dinner. Providing it was on a plate and that it was left as it was before, he would be getting out of that basement before the day was through. 

If it were evening then he thought that maybe if he left the escape attempt for a few more hours, his father would be asleep, and it would be a lot easier. All he needed now was for the door above him to open, he was slightly worried that there would be no more visits until morning, it wouldn’t be the first time his father had made him go to bed without any dinner.

Another hour past, or it seemed that way, Mac was about to give up and try to sleep again when the door opened. His father walked down the stairs with a bowl, setting it in front of his son, along with another bottle of water, he then went and lent against the wall like he had the previous time.

“Eat it while it’s hot,” James said.

Mac looked down at what he’d been given, it was a bowl of soup, there was a plastic spoon, guess his father didn’t trust him with a metal one. It wasn’t a plate, but it was ceramic so it would do just as well. He picked it up and started eating, wondering why his father was standing there watching.

“Did you stay just to watch me eat?” Mac asked, putting the bowl down and drinking some of the water.

“I thought we could talk a little, I haven’t had any company in a while,” James replied, fiddling with something in his hand.

“What did you want to talk about? What about what you’ve been up to all these years?” Mac was trying hard not to sound too angry; he didn’t want anything to affect his escape plan.

“I worked for the CIA for a while, but we parted ways years back. Since then I’ve been just trying to stay alive, there are a lot of people who want me dead Angus.”

“I know the feeling.”

Mac had finished the soup and put the bowl down, praying that James didn’t take it away and leave. He went to pick up the water bottle again but found that his eyes were getting unfocused, he blinked a couple of times, realising too late that his father had hung around to make sure he’d eaten the drugged food.

“Why?” Mac managed to ask, before his body slumped onto the mattress.

James came over and arranged his son into a more comfortable position, picking up the bowl before answering. “Because I can’t leave you awake while I’m asleep, I know you too well Angus, I know you wouldn’t be here when I woke up.”

Mac felt his eyes closing, realising he was stupid not to factor this into his plans. He would escape, it would just have to be later than he’d planned.


	4. Chapter 4

Mac awoke the same way he had all the other times he’d been drugged, and he was getting sick of it, he hoped that this was going to be the last time.

He got up and used the bucket, pushing it slightly away with his foot, he then sat down and took a drink from the water, it had been a fresh bottle, so he was sure that it wasn’t dosed.

Mac wasn’t sure what to expect from the day, his father’s behaviour was a little erratic and it was concerning him what was going through his mind. He’d told him that he worked for the CIA, which if Mac was honest made perfect sense. But if he’d left the agency then why hadn’t he tracked Mac down sooner, surely it was safer than when he was a kid. Maybe because he was convinced that there was an enemy at every turn, he thought Mac was safer without him, until now. Apparently now he was safer chained up in his basement, that unsettled him, he didn’t even know why this was really happening, he didn’t know anything about who his father was now. He was sure that he wouldn’t deliberately hurt him, not seriously, but how did he know that.

Mac just wished that his father would explain everything, in detail. If there really was a threat then he could help, he was a trained Phoenix agent after all and he had friends, a whole agency that would back him up. The best thing he could do was try to get his father to talk, maybe before he tried to escape again. Now the waiting, he no idea what time it was, his father could still be asleep, he could have gone out. Although Mac realised that probably wasn’t the case, James would have given him enough sedative to knock him out until morning, like he’d said the night before he didn’t want to risk Mac being gone when he woke up.

As if proving his theory, the door above opened and James walked in carrying a bag, putting it down at the bottom of the stairs.

“I need you to behave Angus, I won’t hesitate to drug you again if you try anything,” James said, taking a few things out of the bag.

“What exactly do you think I’m going to do?” Mac asked, looking slightly worried about the items he was seeing.

“Nothing right now, but when I take off that manacle, I know you’ll try to overpower me and escape. You need to know that I won’t let that happen, I don’t want to hurt you, but I’m trained to take down the enemy, don’t make yourself that.”

“Where are we going?” Really hoping that James didn’t mean what he said.

“I thought you could use a shower and a change of clothes, if you behave you can eat breakfast upstairs and we can talk.”

Mac was a little unsure of his father’s plan to get him upstairs, he knew he didn’t trust him not to run, it was built into him to escape if he could, although part of him did want to talk to his father so maybe he should just cooperate. “I’ll behave, you don’t have to use any of that.”

Mac was referring to the items that James was taking out of the bag, that he was carrying over to his son. “I’m afraid I do, if you don’t struggle it will be painless.”

Mac’s breathing quickened a little, instinctively wanting to do just that, they were father and son, but he was treating him like someone he was keeping prisoner, someone who needed to be kept in line.

James walked behind him. “Hands behind your back.”

He really didn’t want to comply, but he knew that his father would just pull them, and it might hurt him, so he did, feeling the rope wrap around his wrists. Guess he shouldn’t be surprised that he was using that instead of handcuffs, not so easy to get out of. The next thing that happened made his breath quicken even more, causing him to fight a little, a piece of fabric was tied around his eyes, blocking his sight completely.

“Come on Angus you should have known that was coming, if you can’t see it disorientates you, makes you less likely to fight. Be still.”

James had a tight hold of his upper arm, Mac stopped struggling knowing it was useless, saving his strength for later, there might be an opportunity when he was upstairs. The grip was released, and he felt a hand on his ankle, knowing that his father was unlocking the restraint. If he had been anywhere else, he would have instinctively leapt up, taking his captor by surprise, even if he knew that it was useless. James would have him on the floor before he even made it to his feet, he knew he needed to bide his time.

“You need to stand up now and start walking, I’ll guide you up the stairs,” James said, taking the grip on his arm once again.

Mac knew this was going to be disorientating, just like his father had said, walking up the stairs when he couldn’t see or hold on. “I could have gone up under my own power if you would trust me.”

“Trust is earned Angus, you know that. Maybe next time we do this we can do it without the restraints. But for now, we do things my way, unless you want to stop now, go back.”

Mac wobbled a little as his father abruptly stopped moving, pulling slightly on his arm, he knew he wouldn’t fall but it was hard for his heart to stop beating so fast. “We’ll do it your way.” He said, hating saying it but knowing that he had to.

They reached the top quicker than he thought they would, and James steered him to the right, walking a little longer until he pulled him to a stop.

“I’m going to open the door to the bathroom and lead you in, I’m then going to take off your blindfold and untie your wrists, you will not try anything, do you understand?”

Mac didn’t respond, not realising he needed to, just getting prepared for where he was going to be. He was suddenly pushed against a solid surface the hand gripping his arm getting tighter.

“I asked you a question?” James exclaimed, anger evident in his voice. “Don’t make me regret doing this.”

“I understand,” Mac replied, hoping he wasn’t about to get hit.

“Good,” James said, pulling Mac back towards the door and pushing him through it. He took off the blindfold but left the ropes until he’d explained the rules. “You will shower and clean your teeth, nothing else, I will give you ten minutes and then I expect you to be dressed and waiting for me. A fresh set of clothes is by the sink. The room is cleared of anything that you might be able to use to pick a lock and the window is painted shut. Do as you’re told and when you’re finished, we can eat breakfast in the kitchen, don’t and it’s straight back downstairs and you can go hungry. Is that understood?”

“Yes,” Mac answered straightaway.

James removed the rope from around Mac’s wrists and then shut the door behind him, the sound of a key turning meaning that he was locked inside.

Mac moved to the shower, wanting to finish everything with time to spare so he could look around the room. Sometimes people overlook things when they’re stripping a room and he was determined to find something, he didn’t think he wanted to wait much longer to get away from here, he couldn’t stand being with this man claiming to be his father. Father’s didn’t treat their sons like this. Come on Jack, where are you?

Jack it turned out was thinking the same thing, they’d been working through the night with no leads and he was starting to think he was never going to see Mac again. He couldn’t get the horrible images out of his head of what could be happening to his friend right now, it was over twenty-four hours since he’d been taken, and they still didn’t have anything. He was praying that James wasn’t the monster that he was worried he was, praying that he wasn’t hurting his son. If they found Mac and he was hurt by the hands of his father, then he knew that was something the kid might not come back from. It’s one thing to be taken by strangers, but to be kidnapped by your own flesh and blood, he couldn’t even imagine how that would feel.

“Jack, you need to get some sleep,” Matty said, coming over to him.

“I’ll sleep once we find Mac,” Jack replied, even though he knew it was a stupid thing to say.

“And if you collapse because you’re so exhausted, how will that help Mac?”

Jack sighed knowing she was right, he’d already made Riley go home and sleep and he knew Matty had had some, it was so hard doing it when he had no idea if Mac was able to.

“You win Matty, I’ll go. But only when Riley gets back. I want someone here working, it’ll help me sleep better.”

“Fair enough.”

So as soon as Riley turned up Jack left, he promised himself he wouldn’t stay away long, some food, a shower and a quick nap. He was used to going long stretches without sleep, although he had to admit it got harder the older he got. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was asleep, he would be angry that it was so easy, but he was so tired that he didn’t even have time to think about it.

Back in the war room Riley was going over the footage she had found from street cams around Mac’s neighbourhood, seeing if she could spot anything new, now that they had found out who had taken him. Agents past and present had a certain manner that civilians didn’t have, she thought she might be able to pick up on something that one of the drivers did or didn’t do. It had been about an hour and she sat up straighter, finally she might have found something.

“Matty, can you come look at this?” Riley asked the director.

Matty was sitting across the room sorting through some of the paperwork they had received from James’s time in the CIA. “What is it?”

“Is it me or this car trying really hard not to be noticed?”

Matty came over and looked at the footage, noticing the same thing her agent had. “Yes, it does, something someone with our kind of training would do to shake a tail. Have you run the plates?”

“Yeah, unfortunately it’s a dead end, the car was reported after this footage was taken. Clearly the owners didn’t notice until the morning. If this is the car James took Mac in, he would have stolen it in the middle of the night. It’s already been found so I’m guessing he didn’t keep it for long.”

“So, he steals a car and takes Mac, then drives to where he’s stashed his car and changes over. Can you track where the car goes?” Matty asked, trying to get into James head.

“I lose it, it goes down a street with no cameras and then doesn’t turn up again. I have the location of where it was found, no cameras in the area. It’s just another dead end!” Riley exclaimed, not knowing how many more of them she could take.

“Not necessarily. Just because there are no cameras where it was found, doesn’t mean there aren’t any cameras somewhere close by. We can estimate a rough time of when the switch was made. Check nearby cameras around that time, see if anything pops up.”

Riley nodded, knowing that if she weren’t so emotionally involved that she would have thought of that herself. She just prayed that she could find something, if she found James’s car and tracked it, even to a rough area, at least they would have a place to start looking.

“I’ve been going over these psych evals, trying to see what kind of person we’re dealing with, I’m not getting too far though. I’m gonna go find Cage, have her look, she might see something I’m not” Matty told Riley, heading to the door with a couple of folders in her hand.

Riley barely noticed her leave, completely focussed on the street cameras in front of her, she really wanted to have a lead before Jack came back, she knew he wouldn’t be able to stay away too long. She was desperately trying not to think about what Mac might be going through. He didn’t talk about his father much, but she knew they had a strained relationship, Mac always seemed to want to please his father and whatever he did never seemed to be good enough. Maybe he was so strict because it was what he was used to as an agent, maybe he was trying to teach Mac to look after himself, knowing that he might not always be there. I suppose nobody but James knew why he did the things he did. Seeing his father after all this time must have been a shock, and then to be kidnapped by him, she couldn’t even imagine what that must have been like. Part of her wondered how James had gotten Mac to go with him, there were no signs of a struggle and she really didn’t think Mac would just go without some sort of fight.

As she thought about it more she realised that Mac had probably been drugged, why else would they have sat down for a drink. Not something you do when you’ve got a stolen car outside and it’s the middle of the night. She was surprised that Mac had let his father in and sat down with him, she’s not sure what she would have done if it were her and Elwood. She decided the more she thought about it the worse she felt, so she just concentrated on the data flowing across the screen. That was her thing, if she couldn’t find Mac this way then no one could, and that wasn’t an option.

Mac had finished his shower and was cleaning his teeth, all the while his eyes were roaming the room, looking for anything out of place. His father he should realise was meticulous, there’s no way that he would leave anything lying around that could be used as a means of escape, didn’t mean that Mac shouldn’t look. He turned off the faucet and began a more thorough search, knowing it hadn’t been ten minutes yet, what he didn’t think about was his father listening for sounds of the water shutting off. He was bent over running his hands along the skirting board when he heard the door unlock, he quickly shot to his feet, stumbling slightly as he went too fast. Before the door opened he heard his father’s voice.

“Stand facing the sink with your hands behind your back, it won’t end well if you’re not doing it.”

He decided that he better listen, he was eager to get into the kitchen, a lot more things for him to get his hands on, also it would give him time to talk to his father.

“Good boy,” James said, as he walked through the door.

Mac almost came back with ‘I’m not a dog’ but held his tongue, he just stood still and waited for the rope to tie around his wrists, what he didn’t expect was the cold metal of handcuffs. Once they were on his father spun him around by his shoulders and lead him out the door.

“You behaved so you can come to the kitchen for breakfast, same rules apply, you try anything, I get even the hint that you’re trying to get away and breakfast is over and you go back downstairs.”

“I won’t try anything,” Mac said, hoping that he sounded sincere. He couldn’t promise that if an opportunity presented itself he wasn’t going to take it.

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” James replied, walking Mac through an open door up ahead.

He led Mac to a seat at the table and had him sit down, he then unlocked the handcuffs and brought one arm around to the table, locking it back to a hook that was attached underneath. “Can’t have you completely free can I.”

He walked away from his son and over to the kitchen counter, getting plates out of the cupboard and starting breakfast.

Mac looked around the room, it was bare, not especially lived in. There were two doors, the one that they had come from and one that was shut, he guessed that it headed to a living room. He wasn’t sure if he should start a conversation or let his father do it. This was taking him back to his childhood, sitting at the kitchen table waiting for his father to make breakfast, the only difference, he wasn’t usually handcuffed. He decided to just bite the bullet and speak, he didn’t know how long they would have.

“Have you lived here long?”

“I don’t live here Angus; this is just somewhere we’re staying for a bit. Hopefully when you’re more compliant we can move on,” James replied, bringing over a cup of orange juice and placing it in front of Mac. Plastic not glass, he wouldn’t be making anything out of that.

“I still don’t understand what’s going on. Can you explain it to me?” Mac asked, not liking the last part of that sentence.

“I’ve already explained Angus, I don’t like repeating myself.”

“I know dad, it’s just you haven’t gone into any details. If you want me to cooperate than I need some more information.”

“Since when does a son be uncooperative with his father unless he gets all the information, you should just take my word for it.”

“Since the father is keeping his son against his will by drugging him and keeping him in restraints!” Mac exclaimed, regretting it as soon as the words came out of his mouth.

“YOU UNGRATFUL LITTLE SHIT,” James shouted, smashing the plates down on the table and storming towards his son. He grabbed him by the hair and pushed his head onto the table. “You think I want you here? Do you think I need this attitude? I was doing fine until I had to come and save you and this is the thanks I get.”

Mac was shaking, not knowing what his father was going to do. He had seen him mad, had even got a few bruises because of it, but this was another level. Why didn’t he just keep his mouth shut. As suddenly as he was grabbed he was let go and he slowly raised his head, thinking that his father was about to make him go back downstairs.

“I’m sorry Angus, I get a little worked up sometimes, you shouldn’t push me. Now let’s have these pancakes, they’re going cold.”

To say Mac was confused was an understatement, his father had turned his emotions around so fast he was surprised he didn’t get whiplash. It was literally like he was two different people. He decided it was best to stay quiet until his father spoke again, he would have to tread more carefully from now on.


	5. Chapter 5

Mac sat quietly eating his pancakes, his father had cut them up, telling him it would be hard to cut them with one hand, as if sitting here with one hand handcuffed to the table was an everyday occurrence. His father was sitting quietly too. So much for finding out some more information. He was just about resigned to the fact that he was just going to have to escape as soon as possible without finding out anything more, when his father spoke, and it seemed to Mac that he’d turned into yet another person.

“I’m so sorry I’ve had to do this Angus, I’m so sorry that I left you behind and that I haven’t got in contact before now. You must understand that being an agent and having a family is extremely difficult, after your mother died it was even harder. I know I wasn’t the best of fathers, but I tried my best. One day I realised that you’d be better off without me and so I went, I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t give it a second thought.”

Mac didn’t know what to say, thinking maybe it was better to say nothing, he didn’t want to stop his father from telling him more of what he needed to know.

“I left the agency under a bit of a cloud and I had to go dark. I did think about tracking you down and taking you with me, but you were basically still a child and being on the run is no place for that. As the years went by I kept an eye on you, kept thinking maybe I should reach out, especially when you joined DXS. You seemed happy though and I didn’t want to intrude, I was still living under the radar and didn’t want to put you in a position where you’d have to turn me in. Six months ago, that all changed when some threats were made, I knew that you wouldn’t be safe unless you were with me, so I came up with a plan. I knew you wouldn’t be happy at first, knew that I’d have to make some tough decisions, but I knew once you’d got used to the idea of us being together you’d be happy staying with me. I just have to stay the course until that happens and then I can take you to the place that’s really mine, I think you’ll like it.”

“I’m glad you told me all that dad, and I’m sorry that things didn’t turn out well with the CIA. If you’d have contacted me I wouldn’t have pushed you away, it would have been nice to know that you were still thinking of me. I still don’t understand this need to keep me safe, even if it’s not what I want, you have to see that it’s wrong?” Mac was so pleased that his father had changed into this man who wanted to share, he was just concerned about how long it would last.

“It’s not wrong to want to keep your child safe.” James said, looking at Mac as if he wanted him to understand.

“No of course it’s not. What is wrong is the way you’re going about it. I don’t feel like a son who’s being kept safe, I feel like a prisoner who’s done something wrong.”

“You won’t always feel like that, I’m sure in a few days you’ll come to your senses and see things my way. If you behave yourself I won’t do anything to hurt you, and the only time the sedatives will come out is at night. This time next week we can put all this behind us and look forward to a future just you and me.”

Mac knew that nothing he said was going to change his father’s mind, it was like he was living in a delusion. His only hope was of escape or rescue, he felt he should say something about that, he wasn’t sure his father had taken his team into account.

“You know my team will be looking for me.”

“They won’t find you; I’ve been covering my tracks for ten years; I know what I’m doing. I’m not expecting them to just give up, but once we’ve left here and we’re at our new place, they’ll have no new leads and they’ll have no choice, they’ll forgot about you Angus, realise they’re never getting you back and move on.”

“They won’t do that, Jack won’t do that, he’ll never stop looking.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because they’re family.”

“I’m your only family Angus, you better start remembering that.”

“They’ve been more of a family than you’ve ever been!” Mac exclaimed; he couldn’t help himself. How dare he say that they’d stop looking for him, that Jack would forget him.

“End of discussion Angus, it’s time you went back downstairs, I’ve things I need to do.”

Mac held his tongue, he knew that he shouldn’t set his father off, he said he wouldn’t hurt him if he behaved, but it was hard. The same thing happened going down the stairs to going up, the handcuffs were removed, and the rope was back, the blindfold put over his eyes. Part of him wondered if it was just about disorientation, or whether there was something he didn’t want him seeing. He was pushed slightly onto the mattress and the manacle reattached around his ankle, the other restraints were removed, and his father headed back up the stairs.

“If there’s no trouble between now and tomorrow morning then we’ll do this again. I don’t want you to have to stay down here longer than is necessary. I’ll be back later with lunch.”

Mac sighed as the door shut and the lock sounded, part of him wanted to give his father no trouble, unfortunately as soon as he was brought lunch he was going to launch the plan of escape he’d come up with the day before. He really hoped the team were having more luck than he was.

“Dr Thomas, thank you for talking to us,” Matty said, looking up at the woman on the big screen.

“I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to tell you, patient confidentiality and everything,” the doctor responded, a little overwhelmed with the amount of people in the room she was talking to.

“I appreciate that, but this is about a man that the CIA have disavowed, who they believe to be dead. Also, we don’t need specifics, all we need to know is what we can expect.”

“Obviously, this man isn’t dead then, if you want to know what to expect when you find him?”

“I’m going to be honest with you Dr Thomas, this man is very much alive, and he’s kidnapped his son, a good friend of mine and we are going to do everything we can to get him back.” Matty paused to let that sink in, she didn’t want to get this woman in trouble, but she wanted some answers. “What I need for you to tell me is your diagnosis of Agent James MacGyver, we seem to be getting a sense he had multiple personality disorder, is that correct?”

“I’m sorry about what’s happened to your friend and I’ll help however I can. Yes, that was my official diagnosis, unfortunately before we could run more extensive tests he disappeared and no one heard from him again.”

“Can you run us through some on these personalities?”

“Of course, while I was working with him I noticed three distinctive personalities, there was the meticulous man who you could tell straight away was an agent, everything was to the point, direct, nothing was out of place, rules were to be followed to the letter, then there was the quiet subdued man, he seemed to want to please everyone, never spoke out of turn, kind, caring. The third personality was the complete opposite, harsh, mean, would be angered at the drop of a hat, if things went wrong he turned to violence, I never liked to be in the room alone with him if he came out. All three together didn’t really look out of place, that’s how it started, it wasn’t until these personalities started separating that the problems began.”

“Do you know how often the different personalities came out?” Matty asked, thinking like all of them that Mac was going to draw out that third man eventually.

“It varied on what was happening, the violent personality could come out and then a minute later the quiet one would take over. You have to realise I haven’t seen James in ten years, there’s no telling how these personalities are reacting now.”

“What would be your best guess, if he didn’t receive treatment?”

“Without any treatment they’ll come to the surface more and more, usually after time the dominant one stands out and the others fall to the back. Again, it depends on the situation, if he hasn’t had a lot a contact with other people then it’s possible he could have a handle on it, especially with the techniques he learnt from the agency.”

“Well thank you Dr Thomas, I’ll let you know if we have any more questions.”

Matty turned off the monitor and turned to the people around her, knowing what they were thinking before anyone even spoke.

“That is not good for Mac,” Cage said, the first one to speak. “He’ll immediately push back, try to escape, that violent personality is going to come to the surface.”

“Mac’s smart, he’s gonna realise there’s not something quite right with the old man, hopefully that’ll stop him doing anything to make the guy mad,” Jack said, knowing before saying it that it wasn’t completely true. He knew Mac, he wasn’t going to give up trying to get away, even if it did cause his father to turn on him.

“We need to find him before that happens,” Bozer said, trying hard not to think about what Mac could be going through.

“That’s the plan, unfortunately we’re not any closer to finding him. The traffic cam footage was a bust, I guess James knows how to avoid the cameras. I’ve started writing a programme that will search for James and Mac’s faces, but it’s gonna take a while for it to be complete. Luckily, it was something I was working on anyway.”

“That’s great Riley. James is smart, he knows to avoid cameras and he knows how to stay hidden, but he’s got Mac with him now, he might have to do things a little differently,” Matty said, wanting to keep people’s spirits up.

“We still don’t know why he took him now!” Bozer exclaimed. “Is it just me or was this really out of the blue?”

“We don’t know how long James has been planning this, it might have seemed out of the blue to us, but to him maybe it was the perfect time. You were away for the weekend, he was alone, if Jack and Mac hadn’t made last minute plans no one would expect to see him until Monday,” Cage replied.

“That’s just scary, to think that he’s probably been watching us,” Bozer said, pacing across the room. “Gives me goose bumps.”

“You’re a genius,” Riley cried, making everyone jump.

“I am?”

“I never thought about looking at camera footage from days or weeks ago, you’re right, he must have been watching.”

“You’re right,” Jack replied. “I think we need to go back around the neighbourhood, show James’s picture around, someone might have seen him hanging around.”

“Go, take Bozer. We’ll start looking into how he might have found out information about you guys,” Matty said, practically shooing them out the door.

Finally, they might have a lead, Riley thought, we’re coming for you Mac, hold on.


	6. Chapter 6

Mac was so bored he thought his head was going to explode, he hadn’t spent so much time doing nothing for as long as he could remember. He always had something to occupy his hands, whether it be an experiment, a paperclip or a book he was reading. Of course, his father didn’t want to give him anything he might be able to use against him, although surely he could have given him some books.

He was pacing for what felt like the hundredth time when the door opened, James walking down the stairs with a plate and a fresh bottle of water.

“Sit down please Angus.”

Mac did as he was told, this was it, the moment he could finally set his plan in motion. He highly doubted the food would be drugged, his father had said that he would only do that at night, he just prayed that the man would leave and not watch him eat.

“I know it’s probably pretty boring down here without anything to do,” James said, as if he was reading his son’s mind. “I hope you won’t have to be down here much longer.”

Mac decided not to respond, not wanting to risk either setting the man off or causing him to stay and talk. Luckily, James put the plate down and walked back out of the room. Mac ate the sandwich as quickly as he could, it was foolish to waste it, although he left the bottle, thinking it would be best to take it with him, not knowing how long it would be before he could find another source of water.

He careful broke the plate, not wanting to make too much noise, he then found the weakest part of the mattress and began to cut. He wasn’t sure how long it would take and how long he had before his father came back. After what felt like hours he cut through to the metal coils below, now all he had to do was break one of those without cutting himself too badly. In his head this was going to be easy, apparently the coils were attached firmer than he anticipated. He used the plate as a hammer, he only needed to get one loose, he could bring the manacle over to it rather than the other way around. He was so conscious of how long this was taking, half expecting his father to come through the door at any minute. Finally, he broke one of the coils, he grabbed it and stuck it into the lock. It took a couple of minutes and it was off. He leapt to his feet grabbed the bottle of water and then stopped, realising he needed to pick the door lock too.

He went straight for the staircase knowing there were still loose nails, pulling one out took another couple of minutes, he raced up the stairs as quietly as he could, picking the lock. He listened at the door and didn’t hear any movement, but that had happened last time. This time he was more careful, he opened the door and waited, if his father were there he’d expect him to go through straightaway. It was agony to wait, but he did and then he made his way slowly forward.

He looked right to where he had been led to the bathroom, he was sure that wasn’t where the front door was, there was a wall directly in front of him, so the only way was to the left. He slowly started bringing the door towards him so that he could go around it, just as he was going around he spotted what he thought was the front door. His father could appear at any moment, so he had to hurry, hopefully the door was unlocked, he wasn’t sure his nail was going to be any good picking it.

He had almost reached his destination when there was a sound behind him, he froze, spinning around throwing his arm up to protect himself, thinking that he was going to be stuck with a needle again. Instead there was a fist to his face, it hit him before he could get his arm fully up, it didn’t knock him out so he tried hard to get to his feet, again he wasn’t quick enough, the second fist to the face knocked him backwards where he hit his head on the floor, he quickly lost consciousness, missing his father’s disapproving look. “Why can’t you just do as you’re told!”

Mac came to a while later, to a banging headache and a hard surface. He opened his eyes slowly, knowing that being too fast wouldn’t be good for his head. He discovered that he was once again back in the basement, although that didn’t really surprise him, he was once again chained but there was something missing this time, the mattress was gone.

He sat up slowly, feeling a little nauseous, hoping that the bottle of water would be lying around somewhere, no such luck. He couldn’t quite believe that his father had done that, it was one thing to knock him unconscious with drugs, but with his fists, he’d never done that in the past. Mac brought his knees up to his chest and rested his arms on top. His second escape attempt had been an epic fail, he wasn’t sure there was going to be a third, especially when he was down here. It looked like he was going to have to behave himself so that he could go upstairs permanently, maybe then he’d have more of a chance.

He had just rested his head on top of his arms when the door flew open and James came thundering down the stairs.

“You weren’t out for long, maybe I should have hit you harder,” were the first words James spoke as he came closer.

Mac had to admit he was a little scared, he wasn’t sure if this man would actually attack him, he let go of his legs, pushing himself onto his knees, he wanted to be in some sort of position to defend himself.

“I knew deep down that you’d try and escape again, but I still couldn’t believe it when you made it up those stairs. Part of me is proud of you, a mattress coil, can’t have been easy to get that out.”

“Believe me it wasn’t,” Mac replied, not wanting to stay quiet.

“You realise now that I’ve had to take the mattress away, you’ll have to sleep on the floor, can’t have you trying that again, even though it was fun to watch.” James smiled.

Mac wasn’t sure at first what he meant by that, the headache causing his brain to not fire on all cylinders. He slowly began to realise though. “You’ve been watching me?”

“Of course, I have!” James walked over to the corner of the room and pointed. “It’s amazing what sort of camera’s you can buy these days, you can make them almost invisible.”

“If you were watching, why did you let me get to the front door?” Mac asked, afraid to.

“I wanted to see how far you’d get; it was fun to see you think you’d made it after all that effort.”

Mac couldn’t believe his father was saying that, there was something wrong with the man. He relaxed a little though, it didn’t look like there was going to be any more violence.

“I was going to drug you again, but I haven’t got too many sedatives left, don’t want to use my whole supply, I have a feeling I’m going to be needing it. It felt good to put you in your place with my fists, you’re lucky I only knocked you out.” James paused, thinking that his son was going to respond, when he didn’t he carried on. “There will be no more escape attempts, if you try again I’ll give you the beating I should have given you now.”

Mac believed his father, it wasn’t that he was afraid of getting beaten up, it kind of came with the job description, it was the fact that the man in front of him was threatening to do it, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“You’re not saying much Angus, cat got your tongue?”

“There’s not much to say,” he replied, thinking he had to say something.

“You’re right, there isn’t.” James walked straight to Mac and stood over him, the anger on his face very real. “It’s real simple Angus, you do as your told and we get along fine, you don’t behave, and you get punished. The punishment for today is to sleep on the floor and to go hungry, let’s see if you need more of a punishment tomorrow.”

After that he turned and walked up the stairs, slamming the door behind him, Mac let out the breath he’d been holding, sure that the man was going to follow through with his earlier threat to beat him.

He was thankful that all the punishment he was getting was no mattress and no dinner. He had no issues sleeping on the floor, although it would have been nice to at least have a blanket, plus it was a known fact that he missed meals, the pancakes and sandwich had filled him up, he could wait. He laid back down closing his eyes, his head was really banging and all he really wished for were some painkillers.

Far away in Mac’s neighbourhood, Jack and Bozer were busy knocking on doors showing James’s picture around. They knew it was a long shot, but it was better than sitting around doing nothing.

“Are you sure you haven’t seen him? It could have been weeks ago.” Jack asked, getting the same answer at every house.

“I’m sorry but no, can’t say he looks familiar.”

“Well thank you for your time.”

Jack walked to the next house, really hoping Bozer was having more luck. As it happened that was certainly the case, Bozer had just asked the lady at number 101 and she’d recognised the picture immediately.

“You’ve seen him?” Bozer asked, wanting to be sure.

“Yes, handsome devil isn’t he,” Mrs Mortimer said. “He was walking around last week, Tuesday I think. Thought it was a little strange, he was pacing, kept to the shadows as if he didn’t want to be seen.”

“But you saw him,” Bozer said, a big smile on his face.

“Yes, he was hard to miss, of course I really shouldn’t have kept looking, but I really couldn’t help myself. He was holding this strange object, it was pointed in that direction,” she pointed exactly to Mac and Bozer’s house. “He was probably there for at least an hour, maybe longer, he left and came back a couple of times. Then he got into a green car and drove off, never to be seen again.”

“A green car? Do you happen to know what make?”

“I don’t really know much about cars I’m afraid Wilt. It was medium sized.”

“What sort of time?”

“It was around 3pm, I remember because my favourite show was on just after he left.”

“Thank you so much Mrs Mortimer, you’ve been a great help.” Bozer ran away quickly before she could say anything else, immediately getting out his phone to call Jack. “Jack I’ve got a lead, meet me at the car.”

He met Jack at the car and filled him in on what Mrs Mortimer said, calling Riley as soon as they started driving.

“Tuesday at 3pm, green car, ok got it Boze, I’ll check out any surveillance cameras in your neighbourhood. I’ll also add a green car to my other search, hopefully he drove the same one after he took Mac.” They’d decided that it was possible the stolen car they’d been following earlier was completely unrelated. Strange, but coincidences do happen.

Riley looked up at the others, eager to tell them what Bozer had found out. “A lady on Mac’s street saw James hanging around last Tuesday, apparently he had some sort of object pointed at the house, I’m thinking it might have been a homemade listening device. He left the area at 3pm in a green car. It’s the best lead we’ve got.”

“That’s great news, I hope you’re right about him driving the same car after he took Mac,” Cage said, looking a little doubtful, they’d already followed a lead that hadn’t panned out.

“Me too.”

“I’ll leave you guys to it, I’ve got to give Oversight an update,” Matty said, leaving the room.

Riley and Cage both went back to their work, Riley running surveillance footage and Cage combing through James’s CIA file, determined to find something everyone else missed.

Mac had fallen asleep without meaning to when he laid down, he really hoped he didn’t have a concussion. He had been awake for a few hours at least, as far as he could tell, and he was beginning to get thirsty. He hadn’t had anything to drink in a while, he really wished he’d had some of that water before he’d tried to escape, a thought for next time.

He was pacing again, the only thing he was able to do, random calculations keeping his mind busy. He really wished there were a clock down here, he hated not knowing the time, he didn’t even remember seeing a clock in the kitchen. Maybe his father was doing it on purpose, he imagined it was a technique the CIA taught them when keeping prisoners, keep them unbalanced. The only way he could keep time was through meals, although maybe those weren’t being given to him at the normal time either. He was thinking about a way he could find out how much time had passed when then door opened. 

James walked down the stairs, repeating his earlier phrase.

“Sit down please Angus”

At least he seemed calmer than before, and it looked like he was carrying a bottle of water. He placed the bottle down and stood backwards.

“Drink.”

Mac really wanted to refuse, convinced that the water was drugged, seeing as how he wasn’t being fed. He was too thirsty though and he was sure his father wouldn’t take no for an answer. He drank half the bottle than put it back on the floor, expecting to feel lightheaded, he didn’t. That’s when he noticed the box in his father’s hand.

“Following the rules is important Angus, you didn’t follow them so you’re being punished. Unfortunately, because there is no food, I will have to give you the evening sedative through injection.” James words were so matter of fact, as if he were speaking from a script. “You will lay down on your side and let me inject you, if you refuse or struggle the consequences will be unpleasant.”

Mac had no choice, he really didn’t want his father to do it, it was one thing eating food that he knew would put him to sleep, but to let someone stick a needle in him, willingly, he didn’t like it. He wasn’t interested in finding out what the unpleasant consequences might be, so he complied. He lay on his side arm out, trying not to be too tense as he knew that would make it worse.

James approached him, knelt and stuck the needle in his neck. Mac supposed he should have seen that coming, it’s where the last injection went.

“Needless to say, there will not be a repeat of this morning in the near future, you will stay down here until I am satisfied you can behave, even if that is indefinitely.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning- slight torture and violence in this chapter and the next.

Riley couldn’t believe it had been another night, she was starting to lose it a little, worried that when they finally found out where Mac was it would be too late. Was his father treating him ok, or had he hurt him so badly that he couldn’t escape even if he tried. She had refused to go home and sleep, she knew she was close to finding that green car. One night of lost sleep wouldn’t hurt her and if they found Mac today then she could sleep all she wanted later. Jack had refused to go home out of solidarity, he was now asleep on the sofa opposite her. She didn’t blame him, there was nothing he could do until she found something, and he needed to be fresh.

Something beeped on her rig and she sat up straighter, finally she was getting somewhere, she’d found out around midnight which car she was looking for, another stolen one, although this had been stolen from another state. She was currently tracking its whereabouts for the night and morning Mac had been taken, it looked like she’d finally spotted it, around 6am. Now she just had to follow it to see where it ended up, even if it just gave her a rough area they could go door to door, or she could realign a satellite to check out the neighbourhood.

It took another hour and then she had it, the car had finally stopped, she couldn’t see exactly where, as there weren’t surveillance cameras everywhere, but it had gone past one camera and not appeared on any others. She almost woke Jack, then realised she hadn’t narrowed it down enough, there was still a lot of ground to cover and it was still only 5am, a little early to be sending a tac team to a residential neighbourhood. She’d give it another hour and then wake him, he wouldn’t be happy that she’d let him sleep so long, he’d be even more annoyed she hadn’t woken him now she had a lead.

Just as Riley was about to wake Jack up in the War room, Mac was waking up on the floor of the basement, really wishing that he still had the mattress, he was sore all over. At least his headache seemed to have gone and there was no nausea when he sat up. He took the bottle of water from where he’d left it and finished it, getting up to relieve himself, slightly more conscious of where he was standing, due to the camera he now knew was in the corner of the room. He stayed standing, stretching out his muscles, he also started to massage his ankle, the manacle wasn’t tight, but it had been in the same place for a while now, and it was starting to ache.

He knew that it was only a matter of time before the door opened, he now realised why the timing always seemed so precise, because he was been watched. It wasn’t too long after that, James came through the door, carrying a few things. Mac sat down before he was asked, not wanting to make any trouble if he could help it.

“You’re learning,” James said, setting a bag like the one he’d brought yesterday on the floor, then putting a bowl and a cup of orange juice in front of him. “Eat up, then we’re going to try a little experiment.”

Mac wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that, what kind of experiment could his father be wanting to do, unless he wanted Mac’s help to build something. He was about to ask and then thought better of it, best to just wait and see. He ate the bowl of cereal and drank the juice, all the while his father sat on the bottom step watching his every move.

“Now I’ve decided to try a different method to get you to behave, it’s an experiment, but it’s similar to a technique we used at the agency so it should work.”

Mac hated the sound of that even more, whatever technique this was, it was obviously something they’d used either in an interrogation or to keep prisoners in line. He didn’t want any part of it.

“I guess I can’t say no?” Mac asked, hoping the way he worded it didn’t sound too defiant.

James laughed, “I’m afraid not son. If you do as you’re told it will be painless, I won’t lie it’ll be uncomfortable, but I’m sure you can handle it.” He stood up and picked up the bag. “This is happening Angus, whether you want it to or not.”

Mac closed his eyes, trying to get his emotions under control, he couldn’t believe his own father was about to torture him. Because whatever it was, painless or not, that’s what it was going to be. As he opened his eyes he noticed the breakfast things had been tidied to one side and James was standing in front of him. He bent and unlocked the manacle, stepping away and out of reach straight away. Mac was surprised but he didn’t show it, last time James had made sure his hands were tied before he did that, was he getting sloppy or did he think Mac wouldn’t fight back. It was probably the latter and to be honest he was right, there was no way he was going to overpower his father, get up the stairs and out the front door, so he just sat there.

“I’m glad you’re being sensible Angus, if you’re acting this way already, I may only have to put you through this experiment once.” James stayed where he was, putting the key he just used in his pocket. “Now I need you to strip down to your boxers.”

Mac looked at his father like he was mad, what did he just ask him to do. Why would he ask that? He stood stock still, his breath quickening a little.

“I don’t like to repeat myself son, you know that. Take your t-shirt and trousers off and sit down.”

Mac now knew why James took the manacle off before tying his hands, he couldn’t remove his clothes with either on. As much as he really didn’t want to, he started to remove then, wow he was being far to compliant, he wasn’t sure if it was purely because it was his father, he normally wouldn’t be acting this way. Once his clothes were off he sat down, he guessed now his hands would be tied.

James came over as soon as he’d sat down and asked for his hands, he was right, they were tied tightly, tighter than they were before. He was then blindfolded; James gripped his arm like last time, and they made their way upstairs. They moved through the hall, past the bathroom and through the kitchen, at least Mac thought they did. They stopped and Mac heard a door open, he was pulled into the space and pushed onto a stool, at least that was what it felt like. He felt his arms being pulled backwards and there was a clicking noise, James let go and his arms stayed where they were. It wasn’t incredibly uncomfortable, but it was a little disconcerting, he didn’t like not knowing what was going on and he guessed that was the point.

He heard footsteps, his father was obviously leaving, Mac didn’t understand what this was, what kind of experiment was this. A minute later James came back, and he felt his ankles be tied together, he thought it was overkill, he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Comfortable Angus?” His father asked.

Was that a joke, he chose not to answer, it would just be a snarky comeback anyway.

“Now as part of the experiment the subject needs to be drowsy, I’m going to inject you now,” James said, not giving Mac a chance to respond, the needle went into his neck for the third time since he’d been there, he must have a giant bruise by now.

Mac started feeling a little lightheaded straightway, not enough to make him fall asleep, it was like being tipsy but without the fun.

“Subject must also be gagged, I’m sorry Angus but everything needs to be right or it might not work.”

Mac couldn’t believe what he was hearing, like this was some normal experiment he did with him all the time, if he kept apologising then why was he doing it, why was he about to perform some experiment that required the subject to be bound, gagged, blindfolded and drugged. He didn’t get the chance to say any of that though as a piece of cloth was forced into his mouth and tied tightly around his head, he’d be surprised if he could breathe.

“I think we’re ready,” James said, as if he was talking to someone else, maybe there was someone there, Mac had come into the room blindfolded, for all he knew James had a partner he was working with. “Angus in a moment I’m going to put on some headphones, it’ll be quiet at first and then you’ll hear talking, just listen to the words as best you can. Once the headphones are on I’ll shut the door, the first tape is an hour long. I think that’s all we’ll need for today, but we may play the second tape as well. I hope you respond well to this; it’ll be interesting to see if this works.”

Mac wasn’t sure at first what his father meant about listening to tapes, what kind of torture is that. He then realised that is was a bit like sensory overload, you dull all the other senses and focus on one, this time being sound. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what was going to be played. The headphones were placed on his head, there was nothing he could do at this point to stop it. Like his father said at first there wasn’t any noise, then he started hearing beeping, it was a repeating pattern, soon that stopped and the talking started, he was certain that it was his father’s voice he was hearing. The same sentence was repeated over and over, Mac knew now what this was, it was brainwashing, James was trying to brainwash him until behaving. The same words repeated over and over, and Mac couldn’t get away from them, he was tied securely so he could hardly move, he couldn’t see to distract himself, he couldn’t even talk to speak over the words. He was starting to shiver because it was cold in just his boxers, and the sedative was making it hard to concentrate on anything else, other than what he was hearing. He had a horrible feeling that if his father decided to repeat this experiment he would be broken; his father would break him like some CIA prisoner. The hour was over, and he could still hear the words.

“I will behave, or I will be punished.”

While Mac was being tortured, across town the Phoenix tac team were gearing up, Riley had finally narrowed the search down to a specific house. It had taken a little time, but she was certain that was where the car had stopped, she had tried to get a satellite view but there was too much cloud cover. That wasn’t stopping Jack though, he didn’t care if he was going in blind, all he cared about was getting his kid back.

Both Riley and Bozer were coming along, Cage had already been sent out on another op or she would have been there was well.

“Go bring our boy home,” Matty said, praying that the house they’d found was the right one. “And be careful.”

“Careful is my middle name,” Jack replied, smiling as he left the room.

They were all silent as they made their way to the house, it was slightly apart from its neighbours, but there were houses nearby so they had to be careful. It was a one storey, owned by someone who was now deceased, the perfect place to lie low without getting caught. Jack had made Riley and Bozer promise that they would stay at the back, only coming in once the place was cleared. He couldn’t be worried about them while he was looking for Mac.

They pulled up near the house, not wanting to get too close, James was a trained agent, they couldn’t forget that. The green car that had led them there was parked on the street, it looked like this was the place. Jack took a deep breath and readied himself, directing the team to surround the place. Once everyone was in position he shouted to breach, the front and back doors were kicked in and smoke grenades were tossed inside, the team then made their way through the house searching room by room.

Riley was so tense, that she thought she might not be able to move when she was given the signal. She watched the team breach the house, waiting patiently beside Bozer who looked as tense as she was. What felt like hours later Jack walked out the front door. Riley frowned, this wasn’t right, why would Jack be leaving without Mac. Oh god, they were too late, Mac was dead! But Jack didn’t look like he’d just found Mac’s body.

“Jack?” she questioned, as he got closer.

“There’s no one there Riley, we got the wrong house.”

Riley couldn’t believe what Jack was saying, that had to be the right house, the car was there, and she had followed it from Mac’s house to exactly where they were standing. Was she wrong, had she followed the wrong car? She was breathing so fast that she couldn’t see straight, Jack was talking to her, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying, and then her world just went black.


	8. Chapter 8

Mac was breathing fast, probably too fast seeing as he was gagged and there wasn’t much air filtering through his mouth. He slowed his breathing and his heart rate down, there was no point in panicking. It was over, the words had stopped which meant the hour was up, his father would be in soon to see how it had gone. He was still hearing the words, he just hoped that once the sedative wore off his brain would be clearer, and he would realise that you can’t just brainwash someone so easily. As he sat there he went back to his father’s words before he put the headphones on, his breath quickening slightly again, ‘we may play the second tape as well.’

What was on the second tape, surely he wouldn’t do that, he’d just suffered through an hour, his father wouldn’t make him sit through anymore. He needed to calm down and be ready when James came in, he needed to make him believe that he was compliant, so that it got him out of that room.

Once he was more alert he’d come up with a plan.

He flinched as the headphones were removed, he hadn’t even heard or sensed his father had come in.

“I can’t tell if that’s had any effect on you, there doesn’t seem to be any noticeable differences, I’m going to remove your gag so that you can speak.” James leaned forward and loosened the knot pulling it out of his mouth and letting it hang around his neck. “What did you learn from the tape Angus?”

He wasn’t sure what James wanted him to say, he had to be convincing otherwise his father would believe he was just telling him what he wanted to hear.

“To behave.” Angus said, the words sounding a little wrong, his mouth was so dry.

“Drink,” his father said, pressing a bottle to his lips.

Mac drank as much as he was allowed, his throat and mouth felt so much better.

“Try again Angus, what did you learn.”

Mac wasn’t sure if he was supposed to just repeat what he just said, this time a little clearer or his father was telling him that he got it wrong. “I learnt I need to behave.”

“Is that all?”

Mac wracked his brains, surely that was what his father wanted to hear, his head was still a little fuzzy. He obviously paused for too long as his father started speaking again.

“I really thought that might work on the first go, I guess maybe we’ll have to try it again. We’ll play the first tape over and I’ll leave the second one for another day.” James spoke quickly, he was leaning over pulling the gag back into Mac’s mouth before he could even think.

“No,” Mac said, shaking his head, he wasn’t going to go through that again.

“Well it obviously had no effect on you at all, if this is what you call behaving, maybe we should play the first tape again, then the second, give you something to think about!”

Mac managed to pull the words out that he hoped his father wanted to hear, praying that he would listen. “I will behave, or I will be punished.”

Mac couldn’t see his father, but he felt him step back slightly, obviously trying to decide whether what he’d heard could be believed. He tried his best to look compliant, he dropped his head slightly like he was defeated, there wasn’t much else he could do.

“Ok Angus, I think you’ve learnt your lesson today, the experiment went better than I expected,” James finally spoke.

Mac breathed a little deeper, but didn’t move, he didn’t want to do anything to make his father suspicious.

“The notes say that the subject might need more than one session, it even says that multiple sessions can be given at the same time. I’m not going to make you sit through that again, but you need to remember the words Angus, if there’s any misbehaving today, I won’t hesitate to bring you back in here. The notes also say that the subject is to be left in place with the headphones removed for at least an hour, so they can think about what they’ve just heard. I think that’s a good idea, I have a few more things to do so that’s perfect.”

Mac couldn’t believe that his father was reading from a set of notes, almost like a guide to torture techniques, let’s hope he doesn’t have anymore. He was not looking forward to sitting in that position for another hour, he was starting to get uncomfortable, but he obviously wasn’t going to tell his father that. He lifted his head slightly and as he did his father’s hand brushed past him, fixing the gag back in place and tightening the knot again.

“Sorry Angus, I need to go outside for a bit, can’t have you making any noise while I’m gone. I’ll be back in about an hour and I’ll make some lunch, maybe we can test your new behaving skills and you can stay in the kitchen.”

With that he walked away, shutting the door behind him, Mac tried to get into a more comfortable position, but if he moved his arms the ropes just seem to tighten. He stayed where he was, trying desperately to come up with a new plan. His head was getting clearer. He hoped that if he didn’t do anything to upset his father, that in the next day or two he’d be allowed to roam more freely, only then would he be able to put any plan in motion. He was worried that no one had come to find him yet, had James really hidden them that well?

The next hour was the longest in Mac’s life, even longer than the one listening to the tape. His shoulders had started hurting, being at an awkward angle for so long and his mouth was so dry. He was also flinching at the slightest noise, the blindfold completely left him in the dark, he started to wander what the material was, it had to be strong to not let any light through. As he was running through a list of materials in his head the door opened, causing him to jump, great, how much more weakness was he going to show in front of his father.

“Let’s get you out of here Angus, you must be getting uncomfortable,” James said, approaching.

Understatement of the century, Mac thought. He sat still while his father started to free him from his restraints, first the gag came off, completely that time, then he untied his legs. He flinched again when James gripped his upper arm but felt relief when whatever attached him to the wall was released. The grip on his arm stayed.

“Time to stand now,” James said, steadying Mac when he wobbled. “First stop the bathroom, I’ll let you have a shower and put on some clothes and then we can have some lunch.”

Mac felt himself be pulled forward, he was eager to get under the hot shower spray and put on some clothes, the room they were in was unpleasantly cold. He had decided that there must be somethings his father didn’t want him seeing, why didn’t he take off the blindfold?

The walk to the bathroom was short and he was given the same speech, the pattern then remained the same after his shower, he was handcuffed and taken to the kitchen, one wrist secured to the table.

“I didn’t like doing that to you Angus, if only you had behaved from the start, things could have been so much different. You were always stubborn though,” James spoke up from across Mac, a slight sound of remorse in his voice.

Mac looked at his father, he really wanted to answer back, was his father really blaming him for the torture. But he held his tongue, that would not get him anywhere, except maybe back in the room he’d just come from.

“I bet you’re hungry, I am. I’ll fix us some sandwiches.”

Mac sat in silence, his head was now clear, the drug had obviously worn off and the water from the shower helped. He needed to make his father believe that he wanted to be there, he needed him to let his guard down, he couldn’t escape if he was constantly restrained when he was in the main house. It was extremely hard for Mac to keep quiet, even harder for him to act like he had been broken. He also knew that he had to make it look convincing, he couldn’t be too compliant too quickly, or his father would get suspicious. He had a horrible feeling that he would have to endure that brainwashing at least once more, it was probably the only way to convince his father.

“Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches and some milk, you always loved those when you were a kid,” James said, placing the plate and cup in front of his son. “Are they still your favourite?”

“They’re great, thanks dad,” Mac replied, hoping he put enough in the words to make them sincere.

“My pleasure, eat up,” James smiled, putting his own plate on the table. “I thought after this you could come into the living room for a bit, we could watch a documentary I’ve been saving, I think you’ll like it.”

“I’d like that,” Mac decided keeping his answers short was the best way to go. “I remember we used to watch them together when I was a kid.”

“I enjoyed that Angus; it would be nice to do something like that together again.”

They sat in silence for the rest of the meal, James bringing over some fruit once the sandwiches were finished.

“Right, I’ll do the dishes later, let’s go watch that documentary.”

James got up and unlocked the handcuffs, Mac was hoping that they’d be removed altogether but that was just wishful thinking, his father secured his wrists once again, in front this time and grabbed his upper arm. He walked them to the door Mac had seen the day before and led him through to the living area. He had Mac sit in an armchair off to the side and then pulled something out of a box, it was a piece of chain. Now Mac understood why his hands were handcuffed in front of him, his father attached the chain to a ring in the floor and then to the handcuffs, satisfied they were secure he sat on the sofa across the room.

“I hope next time we do this I won’t have to lock you up like that, I’m afraid I don’t trust you just yet,” James said, taking the remote and turning on the TV.

Mac hated the words that came out of his mouth, but he knew it was all part of the plan. “I understand dad, trust has to be earned.”

Riley opened her eyes and blinked at the strong lights over her, she would recognise them anywhere, Phoenix medical. Not that she spent a lot of time there as a patient, it was more when she was visiting Jack and Mac.

“Mac!” she exclaimed, sitting up, feeling instantly dizzy.

“Hey Ri, slow it down,” Jack said, coming up beside her. “You scared me.”

“I’m sorry, what happened?”

“Apparently not taking care of yourself caught up to you,” Jack replied, sitting on the side of the bed. “You were pretty dehydrated kiddo.”

“Really? I guess I was so focussed on finding Mac that those things just got forgotten,” Riley looked a little guilty when she said that, she hated that she’d worried Jack, especially as he was already so worried about Mac. “Has there been any news?”

“Nothing.”

“How long have I been here?”

“About four hours,” Jack said, knowing how Riley would react to that.

“What! That’s four hours too long.”

“Ri, you have to take care of yourself. When we find Mac he’s gonna need all of us to be at the top of our game, not collapsing cos we’re dehydrated, or sleep deprived.”

Riley again looked incredibly guilty, she knew Jack was right, she was just having trouble with the fact it would soon be another day that Mac had been missing.

“You said when, not if,” Riley said, her voice faint.

“Course I did, we’ll find him Riley, if not today or tomorrow or a week down the line, we will find him eventually.”

“Eventually isn’t good enough Jack. We need to find him before his father can hurt him anymore than he already has.” She was crying now, the emotions of the last few days coming to the surface.

“I don’t know what to say kiddo, we can’t find him if there’re no leads,” Jack replied, sounding defeated. He reached over and pulled her into a hug, a few tears of his own falling onto her shoulder.

They sat there for a couple of minutes and then Riley pulled away.

“Tell me what I’ve missed, did I follow the wrong car?

“No, it was the right car, right house, wrong time. We think James drove there and switched vehicles, because there are no camera’s in that street we’ve no idea if Mac was there, although I’m guessing he didn’t have time to drop him anywhere beforehand.”

“So, we need to find out what car he drove out of that neighbourhood,” Riley said, stating the obvious.

“Hopefully, we can, and hopefully it won’t lead us to another dead end.”

“I need to get out of here Jack, back to the search.” She pushed the covers off her legs and swung them over the side of the bed before Jack could respond.

“Hey now little lady, I think the doctor needs to make that decision.”

“Since when do you listen to doctors.”

“That’s absolutely true, but I don’t want you following in my footsteps. Bad enough Mac does.” Jack paused, as if it were hard to say his name. “Let me at least find the doc, he might say you’re fine to leave.”

“Fine, but I’m going whether they like it or not.”

It turned out the doctor was fine for her to leave if she kept herself hydrated; Jack would make sure of it, even if he had to force it on her. They made their way to the war room so Riley could start searching surveillance footage once more. “Where is everyone?” Riley asked.

“Cage is still on the op she was sent on, she should be back soon, I sent Bozer home once we knew you were gonna be ok, didn’t want him collapsing on me too. Matty’s following up on some leads of her own with the CIA, I think she’s convinced they know more than they’re letting on.”

Riley nodded, glad that everyone was doing something, settling on the sofa, booting up her rig. “I will find us a lead Jack, I promise.”

“Ri, I know you’ll do your best, but I don’t expect miracles. If there isn’t anything to find then it doesn’t matter how hard you look.”

Riley nodded, knowing that he was right, she just hoped that she was better than James, she wouldn’t let him beat her.

“I’m gonna go grab as some snacks and some Gatorade, after all I just promised the doc I’d look after you, holler if you need anything.”

“Take your time Jack, this is probably gonna take a while.”

“OK, maybe I’ll head down to the lab then, see if they’ve found anything from the car or the house.”

“You think they will?”

“I don’t think James would leave anything behind that he didn’t want us to find, but like Matty said, he’s not alone anymore, he might make a mistake.”

“I’ll cross my fingers and toes then; we could do with him making some mistakes.”

“Ahem to that Ri, Ahem to that.”

Chapter nine.

Mac was back in the basement; James had told him that he’d done well, and that he would make sure to bring him back upstairs the next morning. The time in the living room had been interesting, James had basically left Mac to his own devices, watching the documentary and then going into the kitchen to do the dishes. He had looked around as best he could, not wanting to be seen walking around by his father, not that he could go far, the chain wasn’t exceptionally long.

Nothing stood out though, nothing he could get his hands on to pick a lock with, even though he was against escaping from the basement again, although he would try if the opportunity presented itself.

His father hadn’t talked much, only talking about the documentary and Angus’s progress. The only thing that was of interest was the way he ushered Mac back down the stairs. He’d looked at his watch and jumped up, looking a Mac with a bit of shock.

“It’s time to go Angus, I think I’ve let you stay up here too long.”

Mac wondered what was going on, did his father have something specific to do at that time? Not that he knew what time it was, he still hadn’t been able to look at a clock.

James quickly came over and took off the chain, packing it back in the box, he then pulled Mac up quite forcefully and quickly moved the cuffs from the front to the back. He then pulled the dreaded blindfold over his eyes, spun Mac around and then pulled him to the basement stairs, he was slower leading him down but there was obviously some reason for this speed.

Before he knew what was happening Mac was back on the basement floor, the manacle back around his ankle and James was rushing up the stairs. Mac waited until the door was locked and then he got up, getting as close to the staircase as possible, if something were going on maybe he could hear it. He was conscious not to make what he was doing too obvious; he hadn’t forgotten the camera. He listened for a few minutes, straining his ears, he thought he could hear talking, but he couldn’t make out any of the words.

Deciding that there was no point staying there any longer he went back to the middle of the floor, he realised he hadn’t relieved himself for a while, so he took the opportunity to do that, noticing that the bucket had been emptied and cleaned. He then sat back down waiting for night to come.

“Eat up Angus,” James said when he bought dinner down a few hours later. Mac couldn’t be sure, but he thought it was later than usual. “I’ve put a higher dose in than usual, I need to go out in the morning and I’d rather you didn’t wake up before I got back.”

Mac paused, suddenly not feeling very hungry, he hated all these sedatives and he was sure this many wasn’t good for him. He knew he might regret it, but he spoke up. “I promise I won’t make any trouble; I really don’t want to be knocked out for so long.”

“I’m sorry Angus but I don’t have a choice, one day of good behaviour doesn’t mean I trust you here by yourself. I don’t think you’d be able to get out of that restraint but it’s always possible, and I can’t have you awake and yelling for help, someone could hear.”

“I..” Mac started.

“Don’t argue, I’ve said this is happening so finish eating and lay down.”

Mac realised that he had to do what his father said, he didn’t want to jeopardise the work he’d made to gain James’s trust. He ate silently, wondering where his father was going and if it had anything to do with what had happened earlier. No sooner had he had the last bite and the sedative took effect and he fell sideways, only just stopping his face from hitting the floor, wow those were some powerful drugs.

It took Mac a lot longer than usual to come around the next morning, the drugs in his system still present even though he was awake. He rolled onto his back, closing his eyes as that made the room spin, god his father had given him far too much, he was sure of it. He slowly sat up once he felt a bit more alert, noticing a bottle of water beside him, he downed the whole thing and then took a few deep breaths. He wondered what time it was, perhaps for the hundredth time and whether his father was back from his trip.

Mac had used the bucket and paced the floor a little, sitting back down by the time the door opened.

“I know I said that you could come upstairs for breakfast, but I don’t have the time today,” James said, bringing over a plate. “Here’s some toast, that will have to tide you over until I can come back, although it probably won’t be until tonight.”

“Can I have something to do?” Mac asked without even thinking. He couldn’t spend the whole day down there without some sort of distraction.

“Do?” James asked.

“Maybe a book or two? I’m sorry to ask but you can understand I want to keep my mind occupied.”

“I’ll see if I can bring you something later, right now I have to go.”

James rushed up the stairs, like he had done the previous day, Mac really wanted to know what was going on. He started eating the toast, noticing that it was on a paper plate, not going to be doing anything with that. That was soon finished. Mac really hoped his father came back with some books, he didn’t know what he would do alone for over ten hours, he was sure that it would be at least that. He would prefer more hours being brainwashed, at least it was something to do.

Luckily for Mac he had his wish, a few hours later James came back, bringing two books, a bottle of water and a bag of chips. He didn’t speak and he was gone as quick as he’d come. Mac really wanted to ask his father what was happening, but he knew that it wasn’t the best idea. He kept quiet and sat reading the books, stopping every now and then to eat and walk around. Before Mac knew it his father was coming down the stairs again with a plate, was it really that time already.

“I thought you’d be hungry, so I bought dinner a little earlier than usual,” James said, sitting on the bottom step after setting the plate down. “I apologise that I’ve left you all day, I’ve had to move our timeline up a little and I’ve been trying to get everything sorted.”

“Timeline?” Mac asked, needing to know what was happening.

“I told you that this wasn’t where I was living and that we would be moving once you were ready, unfortunately the move is having to be brought forward. I was hoping we could stay here for at least a few more days, moving now is not ideal but we’ll make do.”

Mac was eating slowly, wanting to speak to his father about this some more and knowing that once the meal was over he would be asleep. “Why do we have to move?”

“That’s not your concern Angus. All you need to know is that we do, and you’ll need to be ready tomorrow night. I’m glad this good behaviour is continuing, although I would prefer a few less questions. We’ll have to continue the behavioural experiments once we get to the new place.”

Great, his father still didn’t think he was behaving as well as he should. What more did the man want. He finished the meal and laid down, wondering what would be instore for him the next day.

The next morning was a lot more productive for Mac, he was allowed upstairs to have breakfast, handcuffed to the table still, but he supposed it was better than being alone in the basement. He noticed that the room looked a lot emptier than it had the last time he was here, there seemed to only be the essentials left. Once again they ate in silence, the meal over quickly. Mac sat and watched his father clean up and move around the room, packing up a few bits, it seemed he’d forgotten Mac was there.

“When will we be leaving?” Mac asked, biting his lip when he realised he’d ask a question.

“After midnight, it’s better to travel at night, not too many people around,” James replied, looking a little startled when Mac spoke. “Would you like to watch TV for a bit? I think I can trust you in there for a while by yourself.”

Mac nodded, at least it would pass the time.

James used the same process as before and once Mac was secure on the armchair he left the room. Mac had the remote in his hand and he turned the TV on, finding something that would interest him. He sat there for a few minutes and then thought it might be time to seize the opportunity to escape. He had no idea where James was taking him and how easy it would be to get away once they were there. The remote had small components in it he was sure he could pick the handcuffs with; the only problem was where would he go after he was free. The front door was too far away and unless he managed to incapacitate his father he wouldn’t get far. He glanced over to the windows, wondering if they opened, breaking them would make too much noise.

Deciding it was now or never he looked for any sign of his father and then began to take the remote apart, he kept an eye on the door, knowing that James could come back at any minute. Finally, he managed to find the right part and he picked the lock, carefully removing the handcuffs and standing up. Just as he stood and started making his way across the room his father appeared in the doorway. They both froze, Mac knowing he’d have to fight and win to get away.

He approached the older man and managed to get a few hits in, unfortunately the man was stronger and apparently better trained, he had him in a chokehold before Mac could even get out of the room.

“STOP,” James screamed in his ear, causing Mac to freeze.

The pressure on his neck tightened slightly and he knew what his father was going to do, he thought about fighting it but knew that it would just make it worse. His vison faded and James let him go, he wasn’t unconscious, but he wasn’t getting up for a few minutes. That was all James needed, he pulled his hands behind him tying the rope tightly around his wrists, he then dragged him by a hard grip through the kitchen and to the basement. Mac half expected to be pushed down the stairs but instead he was pulled to his feet.

“Walk.”

He complied, walking down the stairs where he was shoved back to the floor, his ankle being fastened roughly into the manacle.

His father stood over him a furious look on his face, without warning he kicked him hard in the stomach twice. He then gathered all the things in the room he’d been given and made his way up the stairs without a word.

Mac lay there, trying to slow down his breathing, he curled slightly, his stomach on fire. He would have wrapped his hands around himself, but his father had left them tied behind his back. He screwed up, he knew he did, he couldn’t stop the couple of tears that leaked out of his eyes. He had no idea what was going to happen now, maybe his father would leave him there, go without him. Or he’d come down there and give him a beating, he had promised to if he tried to escape again. The pain was lessoning, although he was sure that he had a few bruises, and probably not just on his stomach.

Mac wasn’t sure how long he stayed lying on his side, he could hear walking upstairs, and he was sure he heard some banging and crashing. Hopefully, James was destroying things rather than taking his anger out on his son. He started to doze, the adrenaline leaking out of him, his eyes shot open when the door creaked, his father was coming down.

Mac didn’t want to be an easy target, so he struggled to his knees, not easy to do with your hands tied and your ribs bruised.

“Why Angus, I don’t understand, you were behaving so well,” James exclaimed as he stood over Mac.

Mac swallowed and looked up at his father, glad that this seemed to be the nicer side of him. He hated it when the other one came out. He wasn’t sure how to respond, all he could think was to apologise. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry you got caught, not sorry you did it!”

James started pacing, walking around Mac, causing his heart to beat a little faster. He just sat there, as still as possible, he didn’t think now was the right time to start arguing or answering back.

“I was starting to trust you Angus, I thought when we got to the new house I might even start letting you roam around a bit more freely. I thought you understood that you had to stay here, I thought you understood why I’ve had to treat you the way I have. You’ve just been telling me what I want to hear, plotting to leave the first chance you got. You clearly don’t understand a thing.”

“No, I don’t understand, I don’t think I ever will,” Mac replied, deciding that it was stupid to play along anymore.

“You will Angus, eventually. It just means I must put in more of an effort, I’ve been neglecting you, leaving you to your own devices, giving you too much time to think. That’ll change, but it’ll have to wait until tomorrow, there’s no time for anything now.”

Mac didn’t think he liked the sound of that one bit. He really wished that someone would find them, come on Jack, where are you.

“Stay still I’m going to untie your hands,” James said, pulling at the ropes. “Lift up your shirt, I want to see if I need to wrap your ribs.”

Mac did as he was told, flinching when his father pressed against the bruises, he lifted Mac’s chin up to look at his neck, satisfied he stepped backwards.

“Superficial, painful I’m sure but maybe that will act as a reminder. I don’t like using my fists Angus, but if that’s the only way you’ll learn it might have to be added into my plans.”

Mac certainly didn’t want that, his father hit hard, he didn’t know how he would be if it happened more often.

“It’ll come as no surprise, but you will stay down here until we need to leave and there will be no more food. I’ll bring a bottle of water down later; I can’t have you getting dehydrated. Try and behave.”

With that last statement James left, Mac’s tense body relaxing immediately. James kept his word and brought down some water, but other than that he was left alone. As the hours wore on Mac fell asleep, the floor was a lot more uncomfortable with bruised ribs, but he managed. He was rudely awakened hours later by his father’s voice.

“Wake up Angus.”

Mac opened his eyes, fairly sure that it wasn’t the first time his father had asked him to wake up and sat up slowly, knowing that the time had come for them to leave.

“It’s time to go,” James said, walking around Mac with the usual items. He put his hands behind his back before he was asked, and his father wrapped the rope tightly. The blindfold was then placed over his eyes.

“We’re going out to the car, do exactly as I say when I say it, there mustn’t be any delays.”

Mac nodded, it was pointless doing anything now, it wouldn’t change anything. They walked up the stairs and around to the left, walking out of the door into the air, it felt so good on Mac’s face, he hadn’t been outside for days. James steered him across the grass and stopped him with a pull to his arm, letting go for a moment, unable to see Mac stayed still trying to listen for any signs as to what was happening. He felt James behind him and then material brush across his face, as a gag was pulled into his lips forcing them open, the material was tightened and tied around his head and he was spun around. He was pushed slightly, and he was resting on something solid and uncomfortable, he couldn’t make it out. There was a tug on his legs and his ankles were being tied together. He then felt himself being pulled backwards and his head pushed down, it was disorientating, and he instinctively tried to stop the decent, sure now where he was going to end up, the trunk of a car. James didn’t seem phased by the struggling, the grip he had tightened, and the pulling was more forceful, and soon Mac was laying awkwardly exactly where he thought he’d be. He believed he was facing the car itself, rather than the outside. He was ready for the lid to slam down and trap him even more, what he didn’t expect was the needle prick in his neck.

“It’s a long journey Angus, can’t have you waking up too soon. Don’t worry, when we get there, you’ll be alert enough to be acquainted with your new home.”

James slammed the lid shut and Mac felt his world go dizzy, he was sure this was it; he was never going home again.


	9. Chapter 9

Matty walked through the door to the war room. “Riley I need an update.”

“I’ve found the car I’m sure James used after he left the green one, it’s registered to a guy named Oliver Crawl, no priors, we’re not sure if James stole the car or whether he and Crawl know each other.”

“Where is this Crawl now?”

“Living not too far away, Jack and Cage have gone to talk to him.”

“Great, any closer to finding out where the car went?”

“No, I lose it and I haven’t been able to pick it up again. I’m still looking though.”

Matty nodded, worried that Riley was doing too much again. “When did you last sleep?”

“I slept while the programme I wrote did its thing, don’t worry Matty I’m taking care of myself.”

“Ok good, just making sure. I know it’s hard, but we have to think about ourselves as well as Mac, he wouldn’t want us running ourselves into the ground.”

“I know,” Riley replied, looking up from her search. “Did you find out anything new?”

“Unfortunately, not a lot, some of it just made me even more confused, it’s hard to know what was going on in James’s head when he left. He took classified files with him, copies, but still files about targets, interrogation techniques, even on fellow agents. The agency has no idea what he wanted them for.”

“Maybe there were some people he wanted to track down himself?” Riley asked.

“It’s possible, there’s always the one that got away, maybe James had one of them. Let me know what Jack and Cage find out, I need to brief Oversight.”

Riley nodded and went back to her computer, she was close to something, she could feel it.

“So how do you want to do this?” Cage asked, as they pulled up to Crawl’s house.

“We don’t know if this guy is a victim or a suspect, I say we just play it through, see where it leads.”

Cage nodded and they both got out, heading up the stairs to the door of the place, Jack knocked and they both stood back.

“Can I help you?” A woman answered, slightly shocked by the strangers with guns on their hips.

“Is Mr Crawl home? We’d like to speak to him.” Cage asked, her voice soothing.

“Of course, he’s inside. Would you like to come in?”

“That would be lovely ma’am, thank you,” Jack replied, following the woman inside.

“Honey, there are some people who want to speak to you.”

“Who wants to speak to me?” Oliver Crawl asked, as he stepped through the door.

“Are you with the police?”

“No ma’am, we’re with the government, this matter is a little sensitive, do you mind giving us a minute.”

Mrs Crawl nodded, looking at her husband one more time before leaving the room.

“The government, what can I do to help the government,” Oliver asked, taking a seat on the arm of the sofa.

“Do you recognise this man?” Cage asked, showing him a picture of James.

“No, never seen him.”

“You said that a little too quickly there Hoss, I think you need to think about that some more,” Jack said, taking a step towards then man, who was clearly lying.

“I’m not sure I can say,” Oliver said, clearly scared, his eyes darting around the room.

Cage stepped in front of Jack, putting a hand on his arm, a quick look telling him that she would handle it. “Mr Crawl, Oliver, this man is extremely dangerous as I’m sure you’re aware, he needs to be taken off the streets. Not only that but he’s kidnapped a friend of ours and used a car in your name to do it.”

Oliver looked up, shock and guilt written over his face.

“Did you help him?” Jack asked, trying hard to remain calm.

“No, of course not!!” Oliver exclaimed. He paused then spoke again. “But I did take a car out in my name for him, it was last year, my wife and I we were in some financial trouble, when out of the blue this guy comes along. He put us back in the green and all I had to do was take out this car. I didn’t think it would hurt anyone.”

“Is that all you did?” Cage asked, knowing by looking at him this guy was just a pawn in James’s game.

“Yes. Am I going to jail?”

“No, you’re not going to jail,” Jack said, feeling slightly sorry for the guy.

Oliver sank onto the sofa and put his head in his hands.

“I doubt he will, buts here’s my number, if James contacts you call me straightaway.” Cage put a piece of paper on the table. “We’ll let ourselves out.”

Jack and Cage walked back to the car, Jack ringing Riley as soon as they were inside.

“Did you find anything?” Riley asked as soon as she picked up.

“The guy was another dead end, he took out a car in his name for James and that’s it, the end.”

“Dammit, why do all our leads lead nowhere.”

“We’re on our way back, we’ll regroup when we get there.”

“I hoped this guy knew something too Jack, it’s obviously something James does to stay off the radar, having other people buy cars for him.”

Jack started the car and drove back to the Phoenix, glad when Cage didn’t speak again. It was wrong seeing her in the passenger seat, that was Mac’s seat, nobody else should sit there. He still couldn’t believe this was happening, that Mac was missing, he just prayed Mac was holding it together and he didn’t think they’d abandoned him.

Back in the war room they put all the information they had on the big screen, hoping there was something that they’d overlooked. Riley had found the car registered in Crawl’s name a few times, on different camera’s, none of them got a look at the drivers face and none of the locations set up any red flags.

Bozer came into the room with lunch for everyone and they got to work.

After a couple of hours of searching they still weren’t any closer to finding anything and everyone was starting to get frustrated. This was when Matty walked in, finding them pulling their hair out.

“Right that’s it, I’m sending you all home.”

“Matty, it’s not even that late.”

“I don’t care Dalton, you’re all exhausted, you look like something the cat dragged in and I’m ordering you to go home. Don’t come back until the morning.”

“With all due respect, that’s too long,” Riley said.

“Look I know how you feel, I want to get Blondie home too. The problem is that your brains are so overworked and stretched, that you could be missing the answer. It could be staring you right in the face and you wouldn’t see it.”

“Matty’s right,” Cage said, standing up. “I know we don’t want to hear it but coming back with fresh eyes might be just what we need. We’re no closer really to finding Mac than when he was taken, the answers will hopefully become clear tomorrow.”

All of them hated it but they knew Matty was right, they all left the war room to go to their respective houses, no one wanting to socialise without Mac. It was a long night, but they all felt better for it.

They’d all settled back in the war room and began where they’d left off, really hoping that Matty had been right about them needing fresh eyes.

After an hour of searching Boze looked up and asked a question that had been bugging him since he arrived. “Why would James get someone to take out a car for him in their name?”

“Because it’s easier for him to stay off the grid,” Cage responded, feeling like Bozer should really know this.

“I get that, by why not just make yourself a fake identity, get the car yourself, cut out the middleman.”

There was a pause and then Riley sat up. “Oh my god, you’re right.”

“I am? What exactly am I right about?”

“James didn’t just use Oliver Crawl, so it was easier for him not get a car, he used him so that he had official documents for that name. So, he could use the name himself as an identity.”

“So, he’s using Crawl’s name as his own?” Jack asks.

“Which means he might have used that name to do anything, say rent or buy property. It’ll take a little while, but I can find out everything that name has purchased, big and small.”

“And that’s where Mac might be?” Bozer asked, trying not to get his hopes up.

“It’s possible.”

It was after lunch when Riley came up with a list of possible places. By then Matty had joined them.

“Ok first we need to check with Mr Crawl and see in any of these are his.”

“Matty that’ll take too long,” Jack said, ready to check out these places himself.

“Jack, it’s easier to speak to him and narrow the list then send tac teams to all the locations. What if we’re wrong and they all belong to the genuine article, how much time would be wasted then.”

“You’ve got a point, ok Cage and I will go back to the Crawl residence, narrow it down.”

“While they’re doing that, Riley find out as much as you can on all the properties. Get me satellite views if possible.”

“Will do.”

“What shall I do?” Bozer asked.

“Stay and help Riley, you were the one who set this in motion, you should be here until the end.”

The wheels were indeed in motion, they had their lead and they were confident that one of the properties would lead them to Mac.

By the time Jack was getting ready to leave with the tac team it was getting late, Matty almost told them to wait until morning, but she knew they’d already wasted enough time.

The three properties were in different areas and they didn’t have enough manpower to cover them all at once, it meant that one team would be breaching each, one after the other. Starting with the closest, a warehouse and finishing with a one storey house off the beaten track.

Riley and Bozer were staying in the war room with Matty, watching the team breach on the big screen, Cage and Jack were leading the team on the ground.

It was hard to say who was more on edge, the tac team on the ground or the people waiting behind. The first building was empty, didn’t even look like it had ever been occupied, the second was similar, except they disturbed some squatters so there was a moment of madness when people started running in different directions.

They all held their breath as they headed to the third location, Mac had to be there, or they’d failed. It was now the middle of the night, nearing 1am when they approached the perimeter, the house was dark but that didn’t mean there was no one there. There appeared to only be one entrance, but Jack sent some people around to the back just in case, he didn’t want James to try leaving through a window.

They decided on a silent entry, hoping that the occupants were asleep, they put on their night vision goggles and Cage picked the locked, breaching quietly but efficiently. Each member of the team went in a different direction, Jack choosing the door that was closest, he pulled it open and noticed a set of stairs, a basement. He headed down clearing the room, he stood in the centre for a minute taking it in, there wasn’t much there, but he knew that was where Mac had been kept. He got the all clear from the rest of the team and saw them starting to turn on the lights.

Cage came to the top of the stairs and turned on the basement light.

“We’re too late,” Jack said. “He’s gone.”


	10. Chapter 10

Jack couldn’t believe that they were too late, he was beating himself up and no one was going to convince him it wasn’t his fault.

“We don’t know when they left Jack, it’s possible they left before we even knew about this place,” Cage said, trying to be the voice of reason.

“Matty what do you want us to do?” Jack asked. He was tired and all he wanted was to go home and sleep, but that wasn’t going to happen, not now they hadn’t found Mac.

“Tear the place apart Jack, see if there are any clues as to where they’ve gone. I’m sending Riley and Bozer to help.”

Jack nodded, knowing the Matty saw him through Cage’s camera. He turned to his team and told them to search the place from top to bottom, recording anything that might be important.

“He chained him up in the basement Cage, his own son,” Jack said, walking back down there, knowing that was where Mac had been.

“It’s horrible I know, but we need to try and stay focussed.”

“I’m not like you, I can’t just push down my emotions. That kid is like a son to me and he’s been missing almost a week. Now I know his father was treating him like he was a prisoner.”

“I’m feeling it too Jack, I’m not a monster,” Cage said, her voice cracking slightly.

“I’m sorry, this is just hard.”

Cage nodded, looking around the room, she couldn’t believe Mac had been kept down there, there wasn’t even a mattress or a blanket, the chain wasn’t even long enough for him to move around much. James MacGyver was a monster, plain and simple. Just as she was going to leave Jack on his own, she thought maybe he needed some space, something caught her eye. She walked a little closer and realised what it was.

“Jack, there’s a camera.”

“What, where?”

“Just up there, it’s so small I almost missed it, it’s pointed directly towards the centre of the room. My guess, James was keeping tabs on Mac while he was down here, maybe he recorded it.”

They both made their way upstairs, searching for any kind of surveillance equipment, Jack was unsure if he wanted them to find it or not. At least if there were recordings he could see Mac, see that he was alive, see what he’d been through. Although that meant watching as the kid was hurting.

“Here,” Cage said, finding a set of monitors in a cupboard. “I don’t know much about this; it’s probably best we wait until Riley gets here.”

Jack nodded, staring at the screens, there were two, although both showed the same room. He guessed one could be used as a live feed, the other could watch previous footage. When he found James MacGyver, he was going to kill him, he hadn’t yet watched the footage and he knew that it was going to be bad. He had to pull himself together before Riley got there, he knew she was going to be upset, and he had to be strong for her.

It was another hour before Riley and Bozer arrived and another half until Riley was ready with the footage.

“Are we ready for this?” Riley asked, not sure if she could go through with it.

“I don’t think any of us are ready Ri, but we need to watch it, go on play it from the start,” Jack said, taking a deep breath.

They were all sat around the monitor, trying to ready themselves, they wanted to see Mac, but none of them knew what was going to be on the recordings.

Riley pressed play and the screen came alive, showing Mac lying on his side on a mattress, she gasped slightly at the sight, knowing her friend was just asleep but finding it hard to look at. Her eyes kept focussing on the chain that was attached to his ankle, Jack her told her about it but it didn’t make it any less horrible.

“This must have been just after he’d been taken,” Cage said. “The display says 5am. What’s also interesting is that he started with a mattress.”

“What do you mean by that?” Bozer asked.

“There isn’t one down there now, something obviously happened to it.”

“I’ll fast forward, until he wakes up.” Riley did just that, playing again when Mac sat up.

They watched him look around the room, then notice the manacle on his ankle and all saw the look on his face.

“I can’t even imagine what he was feeling right then,” Bozer said. “Being kidnapped by your dad is one thing, finding yourself in that position. It’s crazy.”

They noticed when Mac did that someone else was in the room, but the camera didn’t move.

“Is there no sound?” Cage asked.

“It doesn’t look like it.”

All of them winced when Mac was hit and fell backwards, all saw the look of shock on his face, but only one of them was vocal about it.

“Son of a bitch.” Jack exclaimed, getting up and pacing. He wasn’t sure he could watch anymore.

“It’s ok Jack, he’s gone.” Riley said, hoping that Jack could keep himself together. She turned back to the monitor to see Mac curl up on the mattress and go back to sleep. “God, he looks like a little kid!”

She fast forwarded once more and then they watched Mac search the room, seeing how far he could get with the chain attached.

“That chain looks longer,” Cage commented, not going any further when they saw that James had returned.

All of them were tense, even more so when Mac sat down, but they relaxed when a plate of food was put on the floor. Mac sat for a while, he was clearly talking to his father, he then ate the sandwich and without much of a break he got up. They watched him find the nail and pick the lock, heading up the stairs.

“Only Mac,” Bozer said, impressed that his friend had escaped so quickly.

“We know he doesn’t get anywhere though, that worries me,” Riley said.

And she was right to be worried, not even two minutes later something came back into frame, James dropped Mac onto the mattress and walked off.

“Oh god,” Riley said, biting her lip.

“Could have been choked out, or maybe drugged again,” Cage said, quite emotionless.

“He doesn’t look like he’s hurt, that’s the main thing,” Jack replied, not liking how still the boy was.

Riley once again fast forwarded, stopping when a shadow appeared on the camera, she didn’t like the idea that James was in the room when Mac couldn’t defend himself, she just hoped he didn’t hurt him.

“What’s he doing?” Bozer asked, squinting at the screen.

“He’s shortening the chain; he obviously doesn’t want him to be able to reach the stairs,” Cage spoke again. They could now see that she was right.

A bit later they watched as Mac realised it himself, seeing the defeat that came with it, when he went over to the bucket Riley averted her eyes.

“I don’t need to see that!”

Jack laughed, a hard thing to do in the current situation. “You can’t even see anything.”

Riley looked back and Mac was walking away, by the looks of it his was testing his new reach. Next thing they knew James was back again, it was a short meeting, they had no sound, so they didn’t know what had happened. Once James had gone they watched Mac lay back on the mattress and close his eyes, becoming still almost instantly.

“He’s sleeping a lot.” Jack said, not sure if that was a good or bad thing.

They fast forward through most of the next few hours, nothing happened except Mac getting more bored by the second.

“God that must be hell, his hands are always doing something!” Bozer exclaimed, the others silently agreeing.

When they thought that was nothing left to watch for that day Mac looked up and it was clear his father was coming in.

“At least he’s feeding him,” Riley said, as they watched Mac eating. She watched as he started blinking his eyes and then he fell onto the mattress, his eyes closing.

“Dammit,” Jack cried. “He drugged him again, surely that can’t be good for him.”

“It depends on the dosage; the body can metabolise certain drugs fairly quickly.” Cage responded, just as worried as Jack was.

“I’ll move to the next day,” Riley said, setting it up. She realised that this would take a while and she wasn’t sure how much her heart could take.

She was right, no sooner had day two started and she wanted to look away, James had come again, and they’d talked for a little while. Mac looked freaked out and quite tense, his breathing was off, she saw James approach and the camera panned out a little. None of them said a word as they watched James tie Mac’s wrists behind him and blindfold him, after the manacle on his ankle was removed they both stood up and then went off camera.

“What the hell was that?” Riley couldn’t believe it, she turned, and Jack looked like he wanted to hit someone and Bozer looked sick.

“The only reason I can think of, apart from to keep him in line, was to keep him off balance,” Cage spoke, her voice a little unsteady.

“Off balance?”

“Interrogators do this to their prisoners to keep them disorientated, makes them more reliant on their captor, makes them easy to control. James had to guide Mac from point A to point B, Mac had to rely on his father completely, he couldn’t hold on to the railing, he couldn’t see where he was putting his feet.”

“I think I might be sick,” Bozer said, covering his mouth. “Mac isn’t a prisoner like you’re talking about, James is Mac’s dad, how can he think of doing those things to him.”

“He’s not necessarily Mac’s father at that point, a personality might have emerged that doesn’t see Mac that way.”

They all shuddered when she said that, hoping that if it was true then the personality didn’t come out for long. They waited for a while and then Mac was led back into the room, a reverse of when he left.

They started fast forwarding the parts when Mac was alone, maybe they’d watch them properly later but unfortunately there wasn’t much to see.

Hours later and Mac turned around, pausing and then sitting down before once again a plate was put in from of him.

“That’s another interrogation tactic, make the person do something before they get the food, for Mac it’s to sit down. If they don’t comply the food gets taken away.”

Cage knew a lot about these things, she was a professional interrogator after all, it wasn’t nice to see these techniques used on a friend though.

They all couldn’t believe what happened next, Mac cutting the mattress open, pulling out the spring, it was such a Mac thing to do, improvise with what you have. None of them wanted to watch what happened next though as they knew it was another failed escape attempt.

They saw James come into shot, picking up the mattress and pushing it away, wondering where Mac was. Not long after they found out when he was dropped to the hard floor in front of them, the bruises on his face clear to see.

“And that’s where the mattress went,” Cage said, now knowing why James had removed it.

Once again they watched Mac wake up, and it pulled on all their heart strings when he sat looking so vulnerable with his knees up to his chest. Riley felt a tear fall down her cheek, closing her eyes briefly. She opened them to see Mac flinch and look up, oh no James is back, Mac immediately got up to his knees, looking defiant.

“Good boy,” Jack said, proud that his kid wasn’t going to back down. Watching that defiance falter a few times, especially when James came right up to stand over him.

Soon James went again, and Mac curled himself up on the floor, closing his eyes. The days seemed to be much of the same, Mac spending a lot of time pacing in the basement. It was getting to the end of the day again and Riley was about to switch to the next day when Mac’s head went up, the way it does when there was someone at the top of the stairs. She pressed play and they watched again how Mac sat down, there was no plate this time just a bottle of water.

Again, she thought that might be it, but Mac was still talking, he obviously wasn’t happy with something that was just said, but the look soon changed to something she didn’t like, he looked defeated. He laid down on his side not in his usual position, her heart raced a little as James came over, he was carrying something small in his hand. They all watched as he jabbed a needle in Mac’s neck and then walked away, Mac’s eyes closing and his breathing evening out.

“I can’t believe he drugged him, again.” Riley said, setting up the next day, there weren’t too many left.

All of them were shocked at how many times Mac had been drugged and that was only the times they’d seen. Riley could understand the sedative at night, James couldn’t keep an eye on Mac while he was sleeping, so it was the best way to keep him where he was, didn’t mean she liked it though.

The next day started like all the others, Mac had a bit of a routine, it didn’t look like the blows to the head were affecting him so that was something. His head went up again but this time he sat straight down.

“He’s learning,” Cage said. “Anticipating what James wants before he has to say anything.”

Mac ate his breakfast, talking while doing it so James must have stayed, he had a strange look on his face, possibly disbelief, he then closed his eyes, looking like he was trying not to cry.

“What’s that bastard said to him!” Jack exclaimed, hating to see his kid in pain.

“I’m not sure, but he’s just unlocked his ankle restraint and stepped backwards, that’s strange, for someone who’s trying to garner control and compliance he shouldn’t really have done that.”

“Maybe because he knows Mac won’t fight back,” Bozer said.

“It wouldn’t matter, he’d still keep up the same routine, so that the prisoner would get used to it.”

“Can you stop calling Mac that?”

They turned back to screen as Riley gasped, Mac was taking off his clothes.

“Now it makes sense, he’s found another way to unbalance him, don’t worry he won’t make him strip all the way.”

Cage was right, they watched as Mac sat down after stripping to his boxers, he then put his hands behind his back straightaway, the same routine as Cage called it happened again and then Mac was gone.

“He’s breaking him,” Jack said, his emotions getting the better of him. “I’m not sure how much more I can watch.”

“I hear you Jack,” Bozer said. “I think I’d feel worse not knowing though, my imagination is pretty wild.”

Riley fast forwarded again, most of the day going by with no sign of Mac, maybe they had left? Riley realised there was more footage so that obviously wasn’t the case. It was horrible not knowing what had been happening to Mac, there was only a camera in the basement so there was no way to know what happened when he got out of shot. Finally, Mac came back into view, James was gone before Riley could even press play. They watched Mac stand near the stairs, it looked like his was listening for something, then after a while walk away. Once he got settled on the floor Riley sped up once more, stopping when the food arrived.

“We know he’s gonna be drugged again, maybe we shouldn’t watch,” Riley said, watching Mac stop eating after a few mouthfuls, it looked like he didn’t want to continue.

“Leave it Ri, just in case.”

She wished she had skipped past after Mac’s head almost smacked into the concrete; he was out before his head even got all the way down.

“Do you think he gave him too much?”

“Maybe on purpose for some reason, Mac didn’t look like he wanted to eat after he was told something,” Cage replied.

The next day was hard to watch, Mac struggled to get up, the drugs obviously still an issue, he was then left alone for most of the day. One thing they noticed which they thought was a good sign, James bought Mac a few books. It was nice to watch Mac do something other than pace. He was brought some food late in the day and it looked like James stayed, Mac was eating slowly and talking. Soon though the meal was finish and Mac lay down, soon falling asleep.

“This is the last day by the looks of it,” Riley said, playing it.

It was like all the other days, pacing, reading and then James took Mac upstairs, thankfully this time he didn’t make Mac strip.

Their hearts were all racing when Mac appeared back in the room though, James shoved him down to the floor and they noticed marks around his neck, Riley shot up from her seat when James viciously kicked Mac twice in the stomach, only sitting down once he’d let.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Jack said, if looks could kill they would all be dead.

“Something obviously happened upstairs,” Bozer said. “Oh Mac.” They all saw the tears drip down his face.

It was sometime before James came back, none of them knew what to expect, but Mac obviously thought the worst as he struggled to his knees.

“I just noticed his hands are still tied, that’s gotta be painful,” Riley said, wincing in sympathy.

Mac sat still and straight for a while no doubt listening to his father, James then came around walking behind him, Mac looked so tense, finally James and Mac seemed to relax, and James took off the ropes. Mac then lifted his shirt and they all saw the bruises. Riley was surprised Jack hadn’t lost it. James left and Mac relaxed, there wasn’t a lot left to watch, Mac fell asleep and Riley thought that was it.

She stopped herself from shutting it off though, after what had happened to Mac she highly doubted James would choose that night to not give him any sedatives. She was right to stop, a little before midnight, a bit late for a sedative James came into the room and Mac sat up. There were obviously some words said and then Mac was putting his hands behind him, James came over and tied them, he then blindfolded him, and they walked out of frame. Riley’s heart was beating so fast she thought it would beat out of her chest, the time stamp was 12:06 that morning. The final image was James coming into the room to look around, he then looked up at the camera and smiled, the lights turning off as he left. The tac team had arrived at 1:15am, they had literally just missed them.

Riley could feel Jack behind her, knew that he’d come to the same conclusion, she turned just as he put his fist in the wall. He slid down to the floor and started crying, she thought she might join him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that chapter wasn't too boring, going over what had already happened. I thought it was a good idea to have the team find out what Mac has been going through. Back to Mac in the next chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Mac. The next few chapters have a lot of angst and violence. Just a warning in case you're not happy reading that. Enjoy

Mac’s return to consciousness was about the same as all the other times he’d been drugged, the difference this time was that he couldn’t move or see. He panicked for a second until he realised he must still be in the car trunk. He guessed he’d woken up too early, he would of thought his father would have given him a pretty high dose seeing as he said they had to travel, but maybe his body was metabolising it quicker, seeing as this was like his eighth time. He realised though that the car was still and there didn’t seem to be any noise, maybe they’d stopped somewhere.

He was extremely uncomfortable, his ribs were hurting as he seemed to be lying on top of his new bruises, his mouth felt like the Sahara, and the gag was making it worse. He was tempted to try and take it out with his shoulder, but knew that his father would be furious, best not to piss him off any more than he already was. He hated that it was so dark, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to see a lot being in the trunk of the car, but at least there would be some faint light.

Just as Mac was trying to decide if making some noise was a good idea, he heard footsteps.

“You better be awake Angus,” his father shouted, banging on the car.

The trunk soon opened, Mac only knew because there was a noise, so he moved his head slightly, so his father could see.

“Good you’re awake, it’s about time.”

Well if you hadn’t drugged me then you wouldn’t have had to wait, Mac thought, really wishing he could say it. He felt his father’s hands around his legs untying the bonds, his ankles were then grabbed and spun towards the opening of the car, Mac’s breathing got faster, he didn’t know what his father was going to do next as he couldn’t see a thing. He felt himself get pulled forward, a hand under his knees and one on his head, it might have even seemed caring if he didn’t find himself on the floor when he couldn’t keep his balance.

“Come on Angus, we need to get inside,” James said, gripping his upper arm and dragging him up, he then pulled him along until they were walking somewhere a little warmer, Mac guessed they were inside. “Welcome to your new home.”

The blindfold was taken off and Mac’s head immediately started to hurt so he shut his eyes. The light was bright.

“Your eyes need time to adjust, I’m guessing being in the dark for so long wasn’t good for you,” James said, his hand still on Mac’s arm.

Mac blinked a few times and then his eyes stayed open, taking in the room in front of him, it was a kitchen, a rather large one.

“You’ll need to help me maintain this place, don’t think you’re not gonna have to earn your keep, I’ve already given you a lot for nothing in return,” James said, as if it was Mac’s choice to be here.

He moved the material slightly in his mouth, trying to get some moisture to his dry throat, his father must have noticed, and Mac was glad, he’d obviously forgotten it was still there.

“I like the quiet Angus; we’ll keep that in until we finish the tour and I get you settled in your new room. You should get used to wearing it, if you talk too much while you’re living here it will be a permanent accessory.”

Mac closed his eyes, it seemed like the personality he didn’t like was back, he hoped he didn’t stay too long.

“Let’s get back to the tour, you need to know where everything is. If I tell you to go somewhere it means I want you there quickly, so pay attention.” They walked over to a door in the corner of the room, it looked like a pantry. “This is where we’ll be conducting our experiments, I’ve got it all set up ready, the first session in the new place will be later on today, would have been sooner if I’d had the time.”

Mac was worried about that, he knew that he was going to have to go through it again, but that was when he was trying to be obedient and before his last escape attempt, he had a feeling it was going to be ten times worse than the last time.

The tour continued, living room, two bathrooms, James’s bedroom. Every room he was shown included added features that were just for him, rings on the floor and walls, boxes full of handcuffs, rope and material. Looked like this James was sadistic.

“Two more rooms to go, and they’re both for you. Now I had to change this last room quite a bit, after I realised I could never put you in a normal room, at least in the foreseeable future.” He opened the door and Mac froze, confused, there was hardly anything in there. “This room did have all the features that mine does, unfortunately they’re now out in the garage. This isn’t the room you’ll be sleeping in; I prefer that to still be the basement, no this is the room you will be secured in when I can’t risk using drugs.”

James pulled Mac further into the room and he saw some of the new additions.

“I want you to know this at the start, so you’ll try your best to behave, I can’t trust you, especially after your most recent stunt, so you will behave, but you still won’t be allowed to roam around freely. I can’t watch you all the time so that’s where this room comes in handy. The windows that were here have been boarded up, the room has been stripped as best I can, although with the tightness of the restraints I don’t think you could pick a lock even if you found something. I’m calling this the ‘secure room’, if I tell you that’s where we’re going you are to head straight here no hesitation. The better you are, the more I’ll trust you and the less the room gets used.”

Mac swallowed hard, he prayed that this side of James was the only one who would use the room, the other personalities seemed better. He might still be tied up but maybe not as badly.

“Now to the basement, it’s like the last one, except there are a few changes. You’ll go down there now and stay there until I have everything sorted up here. I’m not a monster, you can eat something before we start any experiments. I may even let you use the shower.”

James pulled open the door to the basement and flicked on the light, pulling Mac down the stairs and into the corner. His father turned him around and took out the gag and then untied Mac’s hands, he kept a grip on his wrist fastening a metal cuff around it, he then did the same with the other wrist and both ankles.

“These will mould to your skin so you can wear them all the time, it’ll be easier when securing you in each room, a chain clips on the edge using the lock attached,” James said, as if he was explaining the use of some article of clothing.

James clipped a chain to Mac’s right ankle and stepped away.

“I wouldn’t try to remove them, it will only hurt, just think of them as part of you. There’s water over there in the other corner, those chains will only stretch to that side of the room, the bucket is also there for you to use.”

Mac was standing in shock, he couldn’t quite believe what was happening, he looked down at the strange cuffs around his wrists, not sure he’d ever seen anything like it. He was scared and that didn’t happen a lot. He watched his father walk up the stairs and open the door.

“One more thing, in this house we don’t leave lights on, so when I leave I will flip the switch. There’s a small window over this side so they’ll be some natural light coming in, can’t keep you in the dark completely Angus.”

The light went off and it wasn’t too bad, it was early morning, so the sun had started shining. Mac was numb and he had a lot to think about, but he needed a drink and he needed to empty his bladder so those came first. Once he’d sorted out his needs, he sat down on the floor against the wall, pulled his knees up towards his chest and he cried. He tried to do it quietly, he didn’t want to make too much noise, but he couldn’t help himself. He didn’t think he’d ever been this scared, even getting tortured by terrorists wasn’t as bad as this. He also couldn’t shake the feeling that he was stuck here forever, the team obviously weren’t coming, James was too good at covering his tracks and it was very doubtful that he’d be able to escape, and to honest he really didn’t want to try again. He just had to keep it together and pray that things weren’t going to be as bad as he thought, he supposed the way things were, hope was all he had.

A few hours past and the door opened, and the light came back on, James came down the stairs and Mac prayed that one of the nicer personalities were back.

“It’s time to eat and shower, and then we’re going to give the sensory technique we used the other day another try, I’m determined to get it to work.”

From what Mac could tell this personality seemed to be the one who was meticulous, a bit like his dad used to be as a kid. Everything had its place, rules needed to be followed to the letter and there were consequences if they weren’t.

James came over and told Mac to stand up, that was different, usually he wanted him sitting down. His father crouched down and removed the chain, spinning Mac around and pulling his arms behind his back, the special cuffs were then attached to each other and they headed upstairs.

First stop was the kitchen and it looked like James was being overly cautious, he had Mac sit down and he attached chains to both his ankles, he then took apart the cuffs on his wrists and attached one to the table.

“If you hadn’t tried to escape that last time then all of this wouldn’t be necessary. The trust has completely gone, you need to build it back up,” James said, turning away and walking towards the fridge.

An orange juice and a plain bowl of cereal was put in front of him and his father walked away, telling him when he returned he needed to be finished.

Mac polished off the meal quickly, not wanting to still be eating when James came back, he was sitting quietly when the man appeared. James just as quietly secured Mac the way he was when they had arrived and walked him to the bathroom that was for him. It was a wet room, bare of anything but the shower on the wall and a table in the corner.

“You will shower quickly while I wait outside, you will dress only in your underwear and you will face away from the door when I come back in.”

James released Mac’s hands and shut the door and Mac breathed deeply, this was probably the only time he wouldn’t have to be in restraints and it probably wouldn’t be for longer than five minutes. He took off his clothes and turned on the shower, finding it strange to still have the bands around his wrists and ankles, he guessed that whatever they were made of was waterproof, James wouldn’t have used them if they weren’t. Mac wanted so badly to stay under the hot spray, but he hated to think what the punishment would be for talking too long. He soon turned the water off dried himself the best he could and put on the fresh boxers. He stood facing the wall opposite the door with his hands behind his back. It felt like he was in jail and he was standing in position waiting for the guards to put on the handcuffs, he supposed in a way it was similar. In prison though he wouldn’t be about to be subjected to brainwashing.

The door opened and his hands were secured, he was then taken to the room he’d been shown earlier, the one that looked like a pantry. James sat him on a stool, pulled his arms back and attaching them to the wall, then he secured his ankle cuffs to attachments on the chair legs. A blindfold was put on and an he was gagged and then his father seemed to stand back.

“We’ll begin like we did before, I’ll play the first tape which will last an hour, this time there will be no stopping, there’ll be a pause and then the second tape will play, this will also be an hour long. The second tape will stop, and I will remove the headphones, you will be left for another hour and then I’ll release you.” James paused and Mac could feel him stepping closer. “I am wary giving you drugs after you’ve recently had a high dose, but the technique works best with them in the subject’s system.” Mac felt the needle go into his neck. “I’ll consider another form of keeping you secure this evening, especially if we need to repeat this procedure again tomorrow.”

Mac felt the headphones placed over his head and heard the door close and lock, he was shaking slightly, already feeling himself go drowsy. He didn’t know if he could take three hours of this, he knew what to expect from the first tape but had no idea what was on the second. The words started and he didn’t have any choice but to listen.

The first hour was over and the tape stopped, there was a pause and a click and then the whir as the second tape started, Mac was still hearing the words “I will behave, or I will be punished” when the new words started “I will not try to leave or there will be consequences.”

Mac let his head fall, his chin to his chest, he probably should have known that was coming. He was desperately trying to think of anything so he could block out the words, chemical formulas, math problems, even movie quotes, the drugs were clouding his mind though and everything was jumbled.

He wouldn’t let this beat him, he needed to stay strong, he knew that eventually brainwashing worked, especially when it was done properly. His father clearly knew what he was doing.

The second hour was over, and Mac breathed as deeply as he could, his throat was still roar from the car ride, he could really use some water. The headphones were removed, and he heard the door once again close and lock. Just another hour and then it would be over, you can do it MacGyver. He would have dozed but he was too uncomfortable and every time he felt himself dropping off he heard the words, as if they were still being said.

He was so grateful when the door opened again and his father removed his gag, he licked his lips, trying to get a little moisture into them.

“I’m going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer them, no hesitation,” James voice sounded, thankfully Mac’s head was clearer, he hoped he answered correctly. “Repeat the words from the first tape.”

“I will behave, or I will be punished.” Mac remembered that one, how could he forget.

“Repeat the words from the second tape.”

“I will not escape or there will be consequences.” Mac wasn’t sure that was right.

“Repeat the words from the second tape,” his father spoke again, now Mac knew he wasn’t right.

He paused, the words had just been playing, why couldn’t he remember them. He gave his father the same answer, even though he knew it was wrong. “I will not escape or there will be consequences.”

Mac heard the rustling of papers and then James spoke again. “What have you learnt from the two tapes?”

“I have learnt to behave, or I will be punished and if I try to escape again there will be consequences.”

“Tell me again,” James said.

“I have learnt to behave, or I will be punished and if I try to escape again there will be consequences.”

“Again.”

Mac wasn’t sure if he was getting it wrong or this was part of the brainwashing, but he repeated the phrase another few times when his father said again.

“Do you think you need to go through this process again?”

Mac was thrown by that question, he knew his father expected him to say yes, but would he think he was saying it because he thought he should. Saying no could cause problems, but it was the honest answer. “No.”

“Does that mean you think this technique has worked? That you will now behave and be completely compliant?”

Again, Mac wasn’t sure what to say. “No,” popped out of his mouth before he could stop it.

“As I expected,” James said.

Mac was worried about what was going to happen now, he prayed James wasn’t going to make him sit through the tapes again. He flinched when hands touched his legs but sighed when his ankles were released, his wrists were removed from their attachment and the blindfold was taken off. He remained sitting, blinking to focus his eyes.

“We will repeat this process tomorrow and then again the next day until your answers change, I will enhance the experience each time, we will get there.”

Mac certainly didn’t like the sound of that, what did enhance the experience mean?

“Follow me,” James said, turning and walking from the room.

Mac did as he was told, although he stumbled as he got up, his legs wobbly after being on the stool for over three hours. James led Mac to a room they had yet to go in, he wondered why it hadn’t been on the tour. They went through the door and Mac realised it was his father’s work room, there were half made things all over.

“Get dressed and then sit against this wall,” James said, pulling his wrists apart and then pointing over to the corner opposite the work bench, there were some clothes folded neatly on the floor.

Mac put on the t-shirt and trousers and sat down carefully.

James grabbed some restraints from a box by the table and then came over, he attached Mac’s ankle cuffs together and pulled Mac’s arms attaching the cuffs again, he then lifted them and secured them above his head to an object attached to the wall. James stood back, satisfied, he then grabbed a bottle of water and helped Mac drink.

“You’ll stay here with me this afternoon while I work, I want to keep an eye on you and it’ll give us a chance to talk,” James said, walking over and taking a seat at his workbench.

Mac didn’t know what his father wanted to talk about, a lot of their conversations over the past few days hadn’t ended well. He was glad that he’d been given a drink, he guessed his father didn’t want him to dehydrate. He tried to get comfortable, which was hard when your hands were pulled above your head, he was finding it a little hard to concentrate, the words from the tapes kept popping into his head at irregular times. He tried to focus on what his father was doing, looking around the room, taking in all the things that he could use.

“I know what you’re thinking Angus,” James said, Mac’s focus back on his father. “There are a lot of useful things in this room, I’m sure with the way your mind works you could use any number of them to make an escape.”

Mac gulped; he didn’t think he’d made his search that obvious.

“I know you Angus, I know how your mind works, a bit like mine. I brought you in here to see how you’d react, I thought maybe after being subjected to my tapes that you might have had more sense, but it just shows that you’ve not taken the words seriously yet. Don’t worry, that’ll change. Soon you’ll be able to come in here with me and the thoughts you’re having now, they’ll be gone. All you’ll wanna do is help me.”

Mac really hoped that didn’t happen, no matter how many times he had to listen to the man’s tapes. Thankfully, there wasn’t any disappointment in his father’s eyes, only acceptance, like he knew that this was the way it was going to be.

They spent the next few hours sitting mostly in silence, James asking Mac questions every now and then, asking his opinion on some of his projects. His father looked at his watch and got up.

“I didn’t realise the time, suppose I should of, it’s been getting dark for a little while now. I get into my work though, I’m sure you know how that feels,” James said, walking over to Mac.

Mac was finding it had to concentrate again, this time because his arms and shoulders were on fire, he didn’t know how long he’d been sitting in the same position, but knew it had to be at least a few hours.

“Sorry Angus, I should have removed those restraints a while ago, I can imagine that you have to be in pain by now,” James spoke, the remorse in his voice genuine.

He gently removed Mac’s wrists from the wall and brought them, carefully down in front him. Mac couldn’t stop the whimper that came from his mouth, looking up at his father to make sure it hadn’t caused a reaction.

“I’ll secure your wrists in front for a while and I’ll get you some painkillers, then we’ll eat dinner and it’ll be time for bed.”

Mac wished that his father could just leave him untied, he wasn’t going to try anything, he knew suggesting it wasn’t the best idea though, at least this was the side of his father who seemed to care. James helped Mac to his feet and led him to the kitchen, he grabbed a bottle of water and same pills and helped Mac take them. Once that was taken care of he sat him down at the table, attaching him once again, although this time only with his wrist. Mac let the other hand rest on his lap, grateful that it was in a better position.

An couple of hours later and dinner was over, his father seemed in a chatty mood, talking about all the things he’d been up to over the years, how he had finally found this house and thought it would be the perfect place to lay low in. He’d hidden the sale well and was confident that no one knew that he was here. He said he never had any visitors, he didn’t even have any deliveries, getting them sent to a different address. Throughout the whole story Mac was slowly losing the hope of his team finding him. There was no way even Riley would be able to find the place it was so well hidden.

Finally, James announced that it was time for bed and that he better get Mac settled. He wasn’t sure what that meant, he knew that he wasn’t getting any sedatives and he was glad, he was hoping as his father was being so nice that he would just put on his ankle restraint and that would be it.

They headed to the basement and Mac noticed his father pick up a bag, he didn’t think he wanted to know what was in in.

“Why don’t you use the bucket and have some water and then we’ll get you sorted. You can’t have any sedatives, so I’ll have to make sure you’re secure before I go to bed, don’t worry I’ll be gentle.”

Mac slowly relieved himself, conscious that his father was behind him and then took some water.

“Come on Angus I haven’t got all night,” James snapped, and Mac was worried he was going to change personalities, so he hurried over. “Now lay down, try to get comfortable.” James started to remove items from the bag. “I really wish I didn’t have to do this but it’s necessary.”

Mac sighed, he kept hearing that. He got as comfortable as he could on the hard floor and watched his father attach chains to not one ankle but both, he also clipped the bands together. He did the same to his wrists, attaching the chain to the wall.

“If your shoulders weren’t hurting I’d just put your hands behind you back, this is the more comfortable option.”

Yeah, so comfortable, he could move, but hardly. He closed his eyes thinking that was it but jumped back slightly when he felt fabric against his face.

“I have to have you quiet, I’m sorry,” James said, tightening the gag around Mac’s head. “There, I’ll come down as soon as I can in the morning and take that off. Hopefully, I can give you some sedatives tomorrow night, so we don’t have to do this again.”

With that statement James got up and carried his bag up the stairs, turning off the light as he went through the door, “Goodnight Angus.”


	12. Chapter 12

Mac was plunged into darkness, he closed his eyes for minute and then opened them again, there was now a little light filtering through the window. He knew it was probably a bad idea, but he wriggled and moved his shoulders, managing to get the gag off, there was no way he wanted to have that in all night. He tried to calm his breathing down, part of him wishing he’d been drugged again, it was gonna be hard to sleep with all the thoughts racing through his mind. The main thing he was thinking was where he was, it was obviously a house in the middle of nowhere, but surely people had to know it was there. Whoever sold the house would know about it, he guessed it was possible it had all been handled online or through a middleman. There must be some way for the team to find him. He was thinking that he might be able to make something to communicate with if he was left alone for long enough, when there was a sudden noise above, before he knew it the light came on and James came storming down the stairs.

Dammit, he’d forgotten there was probably a camera. “I’m sorry,” he tried to say as his father approached, the words cutting off by a slap to the face.

It dazed him so he had no defence when his father ripped his hands apart rolled him on his front and wrenched them behind him. “If I leave you with a gag in I expect it to still be there when I come back,” his father roared in his ear.

Mac was too lightheaded from the hit and the pain in his shoulders to really hear the words. He was aware of his father on top of him securing his hands, he then felt the gag be pulled back in his mouth, so tight this time he was sure it would cut into his lips. He was dragged closer to the wall, his stomach scraping across the concrete, he felt his wrists pulled and released, but when he tried to move them he hardly could, he guessed they were now attached to the wall.

“I never should have tried to make you comfortable; this is the thanks I get for that. You will stay this way until I decide to release you, you ungrateful child, you so much as move an inch and there will be punishment for it tomorrow.”

James took one more look and walked back out of the room, plummeting the place back into darkness. Mac was panting, trying desperately to get himself under control, he was shaking, and he was in pain and he was really trying not to cry. Why did he forget about the cameras? Everything was going ok; his father was treating him better and then he had to ruin it.

Deep down Mac knew it wasn’t his fault, but he couldn’t stop wishing that he’d left the material in and just gone to sleep. Now falling asleep was going to be impossible, the position he was in was so uncomfortable and he felt like he could barely breathe. He thought he could hear Jack’s voice in his head, ‘In and Out, that’s its kiddo, just breathe’ god he wished Jack were here. He finally calmed down, thinking about Jack sitting beside him, so much so that he fell asleep, not waking up until morning.

To say that Mac was sore when he opened his eyes the next morning was an understatement, he definitely hadn’t been this bad the whole time he’d been with his father, he wasn’t even sure he’d ever woken up that way before. The frustrating thing was he could barely move, his arms were practically locked in place and he knew it was going to be hell when they were released. His face hurt, he hoped the material in his mouth might have loosened overnight, but that didn’t seem to be the case and his throat and lips were once again extremely dry. He laid there, trying to be as still as possible, praying that his father came down. Part of him was worried that the man that had done this to him would leave him to suffer, he just prayed that the nicer man who he’d spent time with over dinner would be the one to come down instead.

Mac knew that there was something wrong with his father, he was leaning towards multiple personality disorder, although he hadn’t seen a transformation from the personalities directly. If that were happening then Mac was worried, he was sure he’d read somewhere that eventually the dominant personality took over, and he didn’t have to be a genius to figure out which one that was.

After what seemed like hours the door opened, Mac stayed incredibly still, if it was the man he feared he wanted to appear compliant, not wanting to do anything to escalate the situation.

“I’m so sorry that this has happened to you Angus, I know that you were in pain already last night,” James said, heading across the room.

Mac breathed easier, it was the man he wanted, he waited patiently for him to come over.

“You shouldn’t have taken that gag out Angus, not after I told you it was necessary that you wear it, you’ve only got yourself to blame for the pain you’re in.”

Great, so even the nice version of James was blaming him.

“I’ll take the gag out first and then we’ll see about your arms,” James knelt next to Mac, untying the knot and carefully taking the material out. “Your lips are cut, but it doesn’t look too bad.”

Mac couldn’t believe how much that hurt; he was dreading his arms being released. James leant over and pulled on Mac’s arms, he flinched at the pain, but they were soon moved back to where they were.

“You need to sit up before I remove them completely,” James said, helping Mac to rise from the floor.

The whole process hurt, he was sore all over, he was breathing heavy, already tense as he knew what was about to happen. Mac watched his father move behind him and take hold of his wrists, there was a noise and then he let go. Mac gasped as his arms hung at his sides, the fire was back, along his shoulders and down both arms. James moved around taking hold of his arms again and pulling them forward.

“No, stop,” Mac stuttered through the pain, his father couldn’t be restraining him again.

“I’m not going to attach your wrists together for now Angus, but you need to move them into a better position, it will help with the pain.”

His father was right, so he let him move his arms, panting the whole way through, finally his hands were resting in his lap, he wasn’t close enough to the wall or he would have leant against it. James seemed to sense this and manoeuvred Mac closer. Next thing Mac was aware there was a bottle against his lips.

“Drink.”

He did, wanting to guzzle the whole bottle, his father only let him have a little and then took it away.

“More?”

“You’ll get sick if you drink too much, you can have some more later,” James said, putting the lid back on the bottle. He placed it on the floor and reached over to release Mac’s ankles. He then got up and walked across the room. “Rest there for a bit and then we can have some breakfast. I’ll let you have some more painkillers after.”

Mac just concentrated on his breathing, hoping that the pain would ease and that he wouldn’t have to endure anymore. He really hoped that this side of his father stayed for the day, unfortunately he didn’t think that would happen, he never seemed to see only one personality, it was always a combination.

Maybe half an hour later and Mac was feeling a little better, he decided to get up and empty his bladder, maybe have some more water. After he was done he walked around a little, he’d been cooped up for almost 24 hours, he was surprised his legs didn’t give way. He had just started another rotation around the room when the door opened.

“You must be feeling better if you’re up,” James said, heading towards his son.

“I feel a little better,” Mac replied, standing still against the wall.

“Good, well it’s time for breakfast, I’ve cooked some eggs.” James approached, unlocking the chain around Mac’s ankle. His father then carefully took Mac’s wrists and hooked the cuffs together at the front, directing him to go ahead of him up the stairs.

His arms pulled a little, but it wasn’t too bad, Mac walked up the stairs and into the kitchen, sitting where he sat each time he was there. James restrained him like he had the first time, both ankles and one wrist, he then gathered up the breakfast things and placed them on the table. There was eggs, toast, fruit and juice. Mac waited patiently for his father to tell him to eat, he didn’t want to assume that he could have what he wanted.

That seemed to please his father and he proceeded to put some of everything on a plate and hand it over. “Eat.”

Mac didn’t have to be told twice. He started eating, wincing when he moved his arm and when the food hit his split lips. His father didn’t make any comments, just ate his own food. He only spoke once he’d finished.

“I’ve been kind to you Angus, why did you disobey me?”

Mac decided to be honest. “It was uncomfortable, and I didn’t understand why you had me wear it, you said yourself we’re in the middle of nowhere.” He held his breath after that sentence, hoping he wasn’t about to set his father off.

James seemed to be taking in what Mac had said, speaking calmly after a moment. “That wasn’t your decision to make Angus. I’m trying to teach you to behave, follow rules and most of all listen to what I have to say.”

He got up, tidying the breakfast stuff up, Mac’s heart started beating a little faster, not sure what was going to happen next, calm words are sometimes the worst. He waited until his father sat back down opposite him.

“I think this is my fault,” James said. “I obviously wasn’t clear on the rules when I brought you here.”

Dammit this wasn’t going to be good, if his father gave him specific do’s and don’ts then he wouldn’t have much breathing room.

“The main rule is this is my house and you won’t do anything without my permission. I’ll give you certain freedoms, especially as time goes on, but not too many, keeping you safe is my number one priority. You will do what is asked of you without any questions. My decision is final, I’m afraid it doesn’t matter what you think. If I feel that you need to be punished then you will be, there will be no discussion. You will take part in any experiments I feel need to happen; they’ll only benefit you in the future so being a little uncomfortable now is not a big ask. I’m not a monster, if you’re in pain I’ll help, although if you’ve bought that pain on yourself then there might not be as much help as you would like. Sometimes pain is necessary. I’ll decide if it is or isn’t and if it is how much. Finally, you know I always liked that saying, ‘children should be seen and not heard.’ Unless spoken to I would prefer it if you kept quiet. Constant questions are unhelpful.”

Mac was stunned, he was sure he’d just seen a transition between personalities. He also couldn’t believe some of the rules, pain is sometimes necessary, great that didn’t sound good. And seen and not heard, yes he remembered that from his childhood, he never coped well with that one. Mac wasn’t sure if he should respond, he guessed not as there didn’t seem to be a question in there.

“I want to put you in with the tapes again today, but we’ll wait until this afternoon. I also feel like there needs to some form of punishment for last night.” James looked at him, hands under his chin, he seemed to be thinking it over.

Not only another session with the tapes but he wants to punish me too, I thought this personality wasn’t that bad, Mac was starting to think that none of them were any good. He looked at his father, not wanting to look away.

“There’s too much fire in your eyes,” James said, standing up. What did he mean by that? “You need breaking a little bit more, you shouldn’t be looking that defiant.”

Mac started breathing heavier backing away as best he could from his father, he had no idea what the man meant by that and he really didn’t want to find out.

“We just discussed that I make all the decisions, so this is happening whether you struggle or not, the easiest thing for you to do is just let what’s going to happen, happen, it will be better for you and for me.” James came over to Mac and released him from the chair, instantly gripping his arm and pulling in towards the ‘secure room’ as he called it.

So much for the sadistic James being the only once to use the room, his arm was hurting from where he was being dragged, he couldn’t help it, he was scared. James pushed him into the room and said words he did not want to hear.

“Strip, everything, off now. If you don’t wanna do it yourself I can do it for you.”

Mac believed that James would, and it probably wouldn’t be pretty, he really didn’t want to do this but what choice did he have. He took off his clothes trying not to show his fear.

“Turn around,” James said, shutting the door behind him.

Mac did just that and he heard James walking towards him, a blindfold was fitted over his eyes and his was then spun around three times and pushed to the floor. Mac was disorientated and couldn’t see so he crumpled to the ground, the breath being knocked out of him for a second. He had a sudden horrible thought; his own father wouldn’t do that to him would he? Why else did he make him take all his clothes off. There was a sudden pain in his side, a boot had connected to it, he felt his wrists pulled, his arms feeling like they were coming out of their sockets, next thing they were released but they’d been secured tightly to something, he received another boot this time in the other side, his ankles were pulled similar to his wrists and they were secured to something too. Mac was shaking, he didn’t know what was happening, James was so silent, he couldn’t even hear him moving around. Suddenly there were noises, something off to his left, then his right, banging, whistling, then nothing and then the noises started again, always from somewhere different. He was trying not to react to them, but he couldn’t help it, his body reacted instantly, this went on for a while, he couldn’t say how long. The noises stopped as abruptly as they started and Mac breathed a little easier, his body slightly relaxing, that obviously was the worst thing to do though as there was suddenly another kick to his side, this one harder than the others. Nothing and then something hit him in the face, then the side again. The blows kept coming at intermittent times, mostly after his body had started to relax. Again, there was nothing, but Mac kept his body tense, he was breathing so heavy, his whole body was on fire, this had to stop soon, his father couldn’t keep this up. Just when he thought it must be, because it had been a lot longer between blows he was suddenly soaked from head to toe with freezing cold water. His body arched trying to get away from it, which only made the pain worse, he lay there shivering, hearing the door open and close, James had finally stopped his torture.


	13. Chapter 13

Jack stayed on the floor in the room with the cameras for a while, letting all the emotion of the last few days out, he had tried to patiently watch the tapes, hating what was happening to Mac but knowing he couldn’t stop it, tried to hold his tongue as much as possible. He wanted to kill James MacGyver so badly, he didn’t think he’d ever wanted to kill someone so much in his life.

The team had left him, Riley hugging him before they went, tears running down her face, he wanted so badly to comfort her but all he could think of was Mac. He’d talk to her later, make sure she was ok.

He heard Cage talking to Matty, giving her an update, he was glad she had done it, he didn’t think he could look at their director at the minute. She was the one who made them go home, she’d been the one that made them wait to breach the properties, if they had come even an hour earlier, they would have stopped James from taking Mac to god knows where. Now that was it. They weren’t gonna find another lead like this one, James wasn’t making any mistakes, he and Mac were gone, and he didn’t ever think they were coming back.

As Jack walked in the kitchen he heard the others talking.

“If Mac had been ok in that footage I wouldn’t be as worried as I am now,” Bozer said. “Yeah Mac would still be missing, but if his dad was treating him well then it would have made it easier.”

“We all wish what happened was different, we just have to hope that Mac stays strong until we can find him,” Cage said.

“We ain’t gonna find him!” Jack exclaimed, coming up behind them. “James is too smart.”

“Jack! How can you say that,” Riley cried, walking around the others.

“It’s true Ri, and you know it.”

“So that’s it then, we just stop, except we’ll never see Mac again, give up on him.”

“No, of course not.”

“Mac needs us Jack, he’s alone and he’s scared and he’s expecting us to come for him. We have to come for him.”

Jack gathered her into his arms as she cried, rubbing his hand up her back, knowing that she was right.

“Matty wants us to bring the recordings back to Phoenix, she’s going to have someone watch them who can read lips, maybe that will give us some clue, James knew there was no sound, it’s possible something slipped in without him realising.” Cage spoke up, filling the awkward silence.

Jack nodded, it made sense. He pulled Riley away from him, looking at her. “We won’t give up.”

Riley nodded back, making her way back into the room with the cameras, she needed to gather everything up she could.

A few hours later and they were back in the war room, all of them looking defeated, Jack had to admit he felt sorry for Matty, she looked terrible.

“It wasn’t your fault Matty,” Jack said quietly.

“Wow Dalton, I didn’t think I’d hear you say that. But you’re wrong, it is my fault.”

“You made some tough decisions; I’m not saying that they were right decisions, but I understand why you made them.”

“I agreed with everything you said Matty,” Cage said. “Going home so we could get fresh eyes, narrowing down the search before we headed out, even the order of the raids. It’s hard now because any of those decisions could be the reason we didn’t find Mac. But that’s not necessarily the case. If we hadn’t come back with fresh eyes we might have missed the lead altogether.”

“That’s true,” Bozer spoke up. “I was so tired everything was fuzzy, the only reason I had that thought about the identity was because I was wide awake.”

“And if Bozer had asked that question before we all went home, I probably would have brushed it aside, not thinking it was important,” Riley added.

“And if we’d hit all the places on the list without narrowing it down, we still could have been too late, you don’t know what’s gonna happen when a team goes in until it happens, look what happened with those squatters,” Jack said, feeling better himself about his actions.

“Ok guys you win, it wasn’t my fault. I still feel terrible though, to know how close we were.” Matty stood up. “There’s a tech going over the footage you brought back, I made sure it’s someone who doesn’t know Mac well, hopefully that will give us something. What about the car?”

“Still haven’t found it,” Riley said, pulling out her rig. “Either James has it with him or he’s abandoned it somewhere that I haven’t found.”

“Well keep looking, we know where they were, and we know when they left.”

Riley nodded, typing, her eyes already focussed on the search.

“I know you won’t want me saying it, but I want the three of you to go home and get some sleep. Before you start complaining, there’s nothing for you to do until we get another lead. Riley has to stay because of her skillset but the three of you need to go.”

“That makes sense,” Cage said, getting up. “What time do you want us back?”

“No earlier than midday, unless I call you.”

Cage headed out and Bozer followed, Jack staying where he was.

“Jack?”

“I’m not sure I can sleep in a nice warm bed, when I know Mac been sleeping on a cold floor!”

“If it makes you feel better, sleep on the floor, might not be good for your back though,” Matty said, smiling slightly. “It’s not going to do Mac any good if you suffer too.”

“I know, it’s just hard.” Jack sighed, getting up and walking out the door. “You call me with any leads, no matter how small.”

“Of course, Jack, you have my word.”

Matty turned back to the big screen, looking over a few things, Riley typing in the background.

“Was it really that bad Riley?” Matty asked, after a few minutes.

“It was horrible,” Riley replied. “What James has been doing to him, it’s like he doesn’t realise Mac’s his son or something.”

“In James warped mind maybe, he thinks he’s protecting him. And the only way to keep someone like Mac safe is to put him in a room he can’t get out of.”

“If he’d just locked him in a room and kept him there, then maybe I’d agree, but there’s other stuff going on. He’s hurting him, drugging him, playing weird psychological games with him. It’s not right.”

“I never said any of it was right, just that James may think it is. Whatever the reason he needs to be found. So, you keep up the good work and hopefully when the others get back we’ll have something.”

Unfortunately, when the others got back there was nothing new. The tech had gone through the footage, writing out all the dialogue that she’d seen, a lot of it was hard to interpret as they didn’t have both sides of the conversation. Nothing seemed to give them any clues as to where they might have gone. Riley didn’t have any luck finding the car either and with her search running on its own she was sent home to rest herself.

Matty was reading through the material the tech had given her, when Jack walked in, feeling slightly sick at some of the things that were happening.

“What are you reading?”

“It’s the dialogue from the recordings, most of it is Mac, there are a couple of phrases from James, but he doesn’t come into view of the camera much.”

“Can I read it?”

“I don’t know if that’d a good idea Jack, you can probably imagine what some of this is.”

“I know Matty, that’s the problem, my mind was playing those images of Mac over and over, but there was no concept to some of it, no reasoning behind it, if I can find out some of the things that were being said, maybe it’ll help.”

Matty nodded, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake, there was a phrase in there that she knew Jack wasn’t going to like, and she knew he would blame himself for it.

They sat in silence for a while, Matty looking through some files and Jack reading, occasionally he would sit up or his breathing would quicken but so far he hadn’t said anything.

“Oh Mac,” Jack said, leaning back and putting his arm over his eyes.

“What is it Jack?” Matty asked, thinking she already knew.

“Where are you Jack? That’s what he says before going to sleep one night. He expected me to find him Matty, I’m supposed to protect him, and I failed. He needs me and where am I, nowhere to be seen.”

“He won’t blame you Jack.”

“He won’t, but I will. I am. If we don’t find him I don’t know what I’ll do.” Jack looked over, so much pain in his eyes. “We have to find him Matty, I don’t think I’ll survive if we don’t.


	14. Chapter 14

Mac wasn’t sure how long he lay, tied, beaten and shivering on the floor but it was long enough, he was conscious of every small sound, waiting for the door to open. He flinched when it did, tensing his muscles, hoping there wasn’t going to be any more pain. There was movement around him and then his father was rubbing something over him, not being gentle, causing him as much pain as the hits, he whimpered, he’s not ashamed to admit.

Whatever it was it was rubbed over every inch, he tried to shy away when it was moved over his private area but there was nowhere to move too. Lastly the thing, which he now realised was a towel was being rubbed over his face and hair. Mac wanted so badly to speak, it was killing him not to, tell his father to stop, to let him go, he knew that he couldn’t, that would probably just lead to more pain.

Soon his father stepped away and he felt his ankles released from where they were secured, he then felt the humiliation of his boxers being pulled on. His wrists soon followed, and he was pulled to his feet, his hands immediately wrenched behind him. His heart was beating fast again, he was also panting because of the pain.

There were no words as James dragged him from the room, he had to keep up or he probably would have been pulled along the floor, he had no idea where they were going or what was happening, soon they stopped and he was pushed onto something. As he was trying to figure it out, a gag was roughly fitted in his mouth, he cried out, he was sure his lips were bleeding again and then his legs were secured and he had a feeling he knew where he was. The feeling became fact as a needle was pressed into his neck and headphones were fitted over his head.

He couldn’t believe this was happening, he didn’t think he could take anymore at this point.

He was already feeling disoriented and confused, he was in pain and his head was fuzzy from the blows he received, now his head fell to his chest as the drugs took hold. The words began and he listened.

By the time, the second tape was over he was broken, he couldn’t take anymore and if his father told him to jump off a bridge he would do it. The headphones were removed, but the pain didn’t stop, the door was closed and locked, and Mac remembered the hour after. Silent tears were falling down his cheeks, he could hardly hold himself up, he was sure the metal cuffs around his wrists were cutting into his skin. He wouldn’t go through that again, he had to do whatever his father wanted and hopefully his life would get better living here.

The door opened and his gag was removed, he was so dizzy he wasn’t sure he could answer any questions.

“You will answer the questions I ask without hesitation. What were the words on the first tape?” This was the first thing his father had said to him in a long time.

“I will behave, or I will be punished.”

“What were the words of the second tape?”

“I will not try to leave or there will be consequences.”

“What did you learn from the two tapes?”

“I will behave, or I’ll be punished and if I try to leave there will be consequences.”

“What did you learn from the two tapes?”

Mac groaned, he was hurting why couldn’t this be over, there was a brief slap to his face and his father repeated the words.

“I will behave, or I’ll be punished and if I try to leave there will be consequences.”

“Again.”

“I will behave, or I’ll be punished and if I try to leave there will be consequences.”

James had him repeat the phrase three more times before he stopped.

“Good Angus, I think we’ve finally got there.”

Mac’s head stayed against his chest as his father released his legs and removed his wrists from their attachment, he would have fallen straight to the floor if there wasn’t a strong grip on his arm.

“I’ll let you rest and then we’ll get you cleaned up,” James said, pulling him out of the room.

Mac was dragging his feet, he wasn’t sure why his father didn’t take off the blindfold, maybe he would walk a little better. They walked back the way they’d come, and Mac was sure they went back into the room they’d left, Mac tensed as he was pulled in, this room did not have pleasant memories. James pushed Mac down to the floor, pulling his wrist cuffs apart and lying him down onto his back. “No” Mac said, not being able to help himself.

His father ignored him re attaching the wrist cuffs and then pulling his arms to secure them like before. Mac started struggling, knowing he shouldn’t but instinct taking over, he moved his legs maybe he could kick them out, a fist to his stomach stopped him in his tracks and his ankles were soon secured like his wrists again.

“That was very stupid Angus, we’ll talk about consequences later.”

His father got up and walked away, Mac hearing the door close and lock. He was once again shaking, although at least this time he was dry, and he was kicking himself for struggling. So much for being broken. Why couldn’t he just behave, maybe there was something wrong with him.

Mac lay still, breathing slowly, trying to not make the pain in his ribs worse, the drugs had finally worn off and his head was a bit clearer. He was going through everything that had just happened, knowing now that it was a technique that was used to break prisoners. You disorientate them, blindfold them and tie them down, you then torment them, they can’t see you or hear you, (if you’re quiet enough), the loud noises, the beating, even the water, it was all something his father learnt in the CIA. He imagined putting him straight in a room with the tapes was meant to make the technique worse, he was already starting to break, then torture him some more.

Mac turned his head as the door opened.

“Let’s get you fixed up Angus,” he heard his father say.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have struggled,” Mac said immediately, if he was broken he should act it.

“We’ll talk about that later.” James said. “I’m gonna check your ribs.”

Mac felt his father’s hands run along his ribs, he flinched and whimpered, the pain was back, and his father wasn’t being gentle. He felt fingers probing both sides of his abdomen, reaching behind his back to check for injury there.

“Nothing’s broken, although there could be a crack in a rib or two, I’ll keep an eye on them, these bruises will be painful for a while, I’ll put some ice on them while I check out the rest of you.” Mac gasped when the cold pack touched his skin, he still couldn’t see so he didn’t expect it. “I’m gonna take this blindfold off now while I check your face.”

The blindfold slid up to above his head and Mac kept his eyes closed, knowing that it would be hard to see for a while. His father moved his head to the side and prodded the bruises on his face, feeling his head to make sure there weren’t any bumps. “Open your eyes.” Mac did and thankfully it wasn’t too bright, James pulled on each upper lid to check the pupils for concussion, looking satisfied he went to check Mac’s wrists and ankles.

“The bruises on your face will heal, the cuts on your lips will need a bit of ice on them, we’ll do that later, but they should be fine. There are some superficial cuts on your wrists that’ll heal on their own. Overall, it wasn’t too bad of a beating, as long as you don’t get another one soon there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Mac couldn’t believe his father had just said that so calmly, oh it wasn’t a bad beating son, be a man and take it. If you don’t get another one soon. As if that might happen? If his father didn’t want any problems then the best way was to stop hurting him. Obviously, Mac didn’t say any of this out loud, he just lay there, keeping quiet.

His father looked at his watch, “It’s a little early for dinner and you should rest some more, let the ice do its job. Here’s some water before I go.” James leaned over and pulled Mac’s head up letting him finish the bottle.

Mac squirmed, knowing that the water helped his throat but wasn’t helping his fall bladder, he had almost wet himself earlier when James had punched him in the stomach and now he was ready to burst. 

“Do you need to go Angus,” his father asked, a bit like he was a small child on a road trip.

Mac nodded, not sure if he should speak, hoping that his father would let him up to use the bathroom. Instead he started pulling his boxers down, bringing the bottle up. Mac felt even more humiliated when James held the bottle ready.

“It’s either this or you wet yourself, and I’m not cleaning up if you do.”

Mac closed his eyes and let himself go, feeling not seeing his father pull his boxers back on. Because his eyes were closed he didn’t see James reach for the blindfold that had been pushed off, securing it back around his head. Mac shook his head, wanting it off, he hated not being able to see.

“Be still Angus, when you’re in this room the blindfold stays on, it’s all part of the process. Now I’ll come back later, and you can have some food. Then we can talk about what happened when I brought you back in here earlier.”

Mac swallowed hard; he thought his father had forgotten about that. He once again was left alone, the ice making the bruises more bearable and his throat feeling better after the water. He really hoped that the evening went better than the day, praying that his father gave him sedatives instead of tying him up again. He was getting sick of this, unfortunately it seemed it was going to be a regular thing, he would just have to get used to it.

Mac had almost dozed off when James came back into the room, he felt his presence before the ice packs were removed and then his ankles and wrists were released, he was pulled to his feet, wincing when his ribs protested. His father removed the blindfold and handed Mac his clothes, telling him to put them on. He didn’t need telling twice, he was starting to get cold, the ice hadn’t helped.

The same process as usual happened, his hands were fastened and he was led into the kitchen, being secured at the table quicker than he thought possible. James brought over a small bowl of soup and a piece of toast, with another bottle of water. “Eat”

Mac dug in, he hadn’t eaten since breakfast and he was hungry, he looked up as his father sat down with a much larger plate of food. He guessed he should be lucky James was feeding him at all.

They once again sat in silence, James ignoring Mac as he winced each time the soup hit his lip or when he stretched for the bottle of water. Mac finished first so he sat quietly, his eyes down at the table, he didn’t want a repeat of the last dinner conversation.

Once James had finished and cleared away the dishes, he sat back down and spoke.

“Let’s talk about the struggling and the talking back at me.”

Mac looked up, a scared look on his face, he hoped it was a better one for his father than defiance.

“It was unacceptable Angus, especially after just listening to those tapes. And if that weren’t bad enough, you tried to stop me putting your blindfold back on after I’d just treated your injuries.” James paused and Mac wasn’t sure if he should speak. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m sorry, the struggling was instinct to someone holding me down. And I don’t like not being able to see.”

Mac knew the first answer might be acceptable, his father knew what being an agent meant, if you get caught you fight. He didn’t think he’d like the second answer though.

“I see. I understand the instinct Angus, I have it myself and if someone other the me tries to hurt you then you should fight, but you need to relax when it’s me, I’m only doing it to help you and you need to let me. I’ll let that slide this time, but I won’t again. As for not liking that you aren’t able to see, frankly I don’t care. We’ve had this with being gagged, you don’t like it so you don’t think I should do it, we also had this conversation. Because of that there will be consequences.”

Mac looked up, not liking that. He was glad that his father had let the first thing slide, although him saying that he was hurting him to help him was a bit much to take.

“I don’t want to keep punishing you, I don’t like hurting you son. Some of it is necessary like I said and I think after that last session we got somewhere, I really think you believed the words on those tapes and I think you know that you have to behave. I’m hopeful that there won’t be any more trying to leave, although I’ll have to play those tapes a few more times I think for it to really get taken out of your mind. The problem is that I think we’re getting somewhere and then something happens, if something happens I punish you and there seems to be a vicious circle. That needs to stop.”

Mac nodded; he didn’t completely agree of course but he had to seem like he did. He didn’t relish listening to the tapes again, although maybe it would just be the second tape and not the first next time.

“I think we need to try some form of exposure therapy,” James said.

Mac was unsure what he meant by that, of course he knew what the actual meaning was, but he wasn’t trying to get over an anxiety issue or fear. Or was he, I suppose in his father’s mind he was.

“I’ll use the blindfold and the gag as much as possible over the next few days, get you used to them. That should stop you reacting when I have use them. It will be like another item of clothing, just something that you put on every so often.”

His father made it sound so simple, as if having to wear them more was going to help, it would just make Mac hate them, he would never get used to it. Of course, he couldn’t tell James this.

“Now that we’ve dealt with that I need to decide what to do with you tonight,” James said, standing up. He went to the freezer and took out some ice, wrapping it in a tea towel and handing it to Mac. “Put that on your lips, I don’t want those splits getting worse.

Mac took the ice and it felt good against his face, the soup had stung his cuts every time he’d taken a mouthful. He sat quietly waiting for his father to speak again. He couldn’t believe it, but he was hoping he was going to be sedated.

“I’m not sure I should risk using sedatives tonight, you’ll need some for tomorrow’s tapes and I probably shouldn’t drug you too much with your ribs the way they are. I’ll compromise and give you some painkillers and secure you with loose restraints. Angus, know that if you so much as make a sound of complaint or you remove any of the restraints there will be trouble, more than there was last night.”

“I understand,” Mac said, he didn’t want a repeat of that.

James nodded and went to get some painkillers, he had Mac take them and finish the bottle of water, he then took away the ice and removed his restraints. They walked down to the basement, James once again picking up his bag.

“Use the bucket, then sit down,” his father said, taking things out of the bag.

Why did his father have to watch him urinate all the time, Mac thought, knowing that was the least of his problems. He sat down where his father said, getting ready for what was going to happen. James attached his ankle cuffs once more and then attached them to the chain already in the basement, he then asked Mac to put his hands behind his back, it wasn’t comfortable but he did it, feeling them get secured together.

“I’m going to leave them just together tonight so you can move around a little, but I will be putting on a gag and that’s non-negotiable, I won’t tie it too tight because of the cuts it made the last time, but it will be going on.”

He took the material out of the bag and manoeuvred it past Mac’s lips, pulling it gently around his head and tying it. Mac winced when it brushed against the cuts.

“It’s as tight as I’m happy with, hopefully the cuts won’t re-open. Now I was going to have you wear a blindfold too, start the therapy but I’ve decided to leave that until tomorrow.”

James got up and Mac laid down, glad he wasn’t being blindfolded again, he tried to get comfortable, not an easy thing to do on a hard floor with your hands behind your back.

“Goodnight Angus, I really hope I won’t have to come down here again tonight, remember I’ll be watching through the camera.” Mac had been warned and he would listen.


	15. Chapter 15

Another day began, like the one before, but this time Mac could at least sit up. He struggled a little and he winced and sucked in a breath as he did, his ribs were on fire, he supposed they would be after sleeping on a hard floor. His mouth once again was drier than the Sahara, he desperately wanted to take the material off but knew that even though it was morning if he did it himself his father would be furious. He just hoped that he noticed that Mac was awake soon and came down, he couldn’t even have any of the water that was so tempting on the other side of the room. 

Mac leaned against the wall, his shoulders hurting with the position his arms were in, he was hoping he’d get a shower today, the one time that he was free of any bonds. Just as he was starting to think maybe he should get up and walk around, his father was taking a while, the door opened.

“Good morning Angus, I’m so pleased that you waited for me before removing that gag, it must be starting to get uncomfortable,” James said, approaching from the stairs. “It shows that you can do as you’re told without any trouble.”

He motioned for Mac to sit forward and he took the material away carefully, the splits in his lips opening again slightly. His father than undid the wrist cuffs, doing the same with his ankle cuffs, leaving the chain attached.

“I’ll leave you for a bit to take care of business, you can then come and have a shower.”

Mac was grateful that his father left so he could make use of the bucket, he drank some water first, dabbing some on his lips. He was moving a little stiffly; he hoped the hot water helped with that.

Soon he was upstairs in the shower, his father had said as he’d behaved well that night he could spend longer than normal under the spray, Mac guessed that James had the same thought about the hot water. Soon though there was a knock on the door.

“That’s enough Angus,” his father called. “Be ready in five minutes.”

Mac sighed, the water felt so good, he got dressed and stood ready, his father entering a minute later, securing his hands.

Breakfast was simple again, toast and an orange juice, his father gave him some more painkillers but told him it wouldn’t be a regular thing. They then discussed what was going to happen that day.

“I want to start your exposure therapy this morning, we’ll begin with the blindfold as your lips are still sore and you wore the gag through the night,” James said, getting up to retrieve the material. He soon tied it around Mac’s eyes, plunging him into darkness. “You can sit there while I clean up and then we’ll move to the living room, you haven’t been in there yet.”

Mac sat still, he would normally be looking around the room while his father cleaned, but of course that wasn’t possible that morning. He prayed James wouldn’t make him wear it for too long, he knew that he had to listen to tapes later, so he’d be wearing it again. He felt James approach and the restraints were removed.

“Let’s go to the living room.” James led the way, pulling Mac towards the room.

Mac felt himself be positioned in a chair; it didn’t feel like an armchair, but he couldn’t be sure. His wrists were attached to the chair’s arms and ankles to the chair legs.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten the last time you were in a living room, this chair is here especially for you, there was no way to restrain you properly in an armchair.”

Mac wasn’t going anywhere, not tied as tightly as he was, and not that he could see to anyway. The TV turned on and James started watching, Mac could hear it, it was strange not to see it, he now knew what it felt to be blind.

Time ticked by, James had been watching a film and those were usually two hours long, it had finished a while ago. Mac was getting impatient, and uncomfortable, the chair was better than a hard floor, but he’d been in it too long. He was also getting thirsty again, his lips were still quite cracked.

“Dad?” Mac asked, hoping that he didn’t get in trouble for asking. “Could I have some water?”

There was no reply, but he thought he heard movement, something was pressed to his lips and he drank, it was soon taken away. “Thank you.”

Again there was silence, Mac stayed sitting, he couldn’t do much else, he felt movement again and felt something else be pushed against his mouth, this was soft and he opened his mouth instinctively, material was pulled around his head and tied tightly.

“We’ll have the gag in for a bit now and I’ll leave the blindfold on too. I’m leaving the room for a bit, I was going to leave the TV on for you, but I think you should sit in silence for a while.”

Mac heard his father walk away and then the room was quiet, he shouldn’t have spoken. The gag was obviously used because he spoke, his father had said the night before that he should stay quiet unless James was talking to him. A simple could I have some water and he was being punished for it. Great.

Mac sat there for another hour at least, although it might have been longer, there was a sound off to his left and then his father was removing his leg and arm restraints, he was pulled up and taken back to the kitchen, from what he could remember from the steps. He was pushed down and restrained once again, that was getting old fast, his gag and blindfold were then removed. Mac’s eyes adjusted to the light a bit quicker than last time and he looked over at his father when he spoke.

“Do you understand why I put the gag in when I did?”

“Because I spoke without permission,” Mac replied, internally cringing saying those words.

“Good, I’m glad you understand. I’m going to do the same thing every time you do it, maybe that will be a lesson of its own.”

James turned to make lunch and Mac sighed and closed his eyes, now it seemed he’d hardly be able to talk. Was there anything his father was going to let him do.

Lunch was a quick affair and James left Mac at the table while he did a few things around the house, coming back every so often to make sure he was still in the same place. Mac wasn’t exactly sure where his father thought he was going to go, his free wrist had been attached to a second ring under the table, so he couldn’t move anywhere. The time ticked by and Mac was sure he could hear talking coming from his father’s workshop. Maybe he was on the phone.

James came through once more walking to the pantry where the tapes were stored, he stayed in there for a few minutes and then he walked back over.

“It’s time for you to listen to the tapes, we better get started now as I’ve made a third one I think you should listen to,” James starting getting Mac ready to move, leading him away from the small room which seemed strange.

They walked over to the bathroom that belonged to James and he opened the door telling Mac to strip to his boxers and then use the toilet if he needed to. He stood there watching, his arms crossed. Mac took care of business quickly and then took off his clothes.

They headed to the pantry and James secured Mac as usual, injecting him with the sedative before putting on the headphones. The first two tapes were the same, although they didn’t have the same effect that they’d had the day before. The last tape was new, and he wasn’t surprised by the words, “I will only speak when spoken to.”

After the three tapes Mac felt quite terrible, he had been sitting all day in awkward positions and he was ready to stretch out. The headphones were removed, and he was left for the final hour. This was starting to become normal, which was scary, he didn’t want to get used to having this done. He was feeling alert when his father came back in, the drug had worn off quickly.

He answered the questions, adding the last one “I will only speak when spoken to,” he then was released and moved, unsure where he was going that time. It seemed the ‘secure room’ was where he was put now after his tape session, he didn’t struggle at all when he was secured, unsure why his father was still standing over him after a few minutes had passed.

“I’m disappointed Angus,” James said.

Mac wasn’t sure what had happened, he’d done everything right, he answered all the questions, he didn’t struggle.

“Yesterday went so well, you seemed so broken and ready to behave, I thought when I played the tapes today, especially adding the new one that you would be even more broken. Instead you just seem bored.”

His father had noticed that the tapes didn’t have any effect on him, he hated to think what was going to happen now.

“Maybe pain is the element I need, the beating you took yesterday weakened you and that helped you to absorb the words from the tapes. I didn’t think that would be needed each time, but maybe it is. I obviously can’t give you a beating like that every day or that wouldn’t work either. It has to be a happy medium.”

Mac’s heart was racing, he did not want to be in pain everyday so that he was broken quicker, maybe he should have acted more dazed after the tapes, more pathetic. It was too late now but he’d have to remember it.

“I have to think about this, they’ll be no dinner tonight and you’ll have to just stay here until I’ve thought things through. Don’t worry Angus, I’ll come up with a plan that will work. I need you broken enough to keep you safe, but not too broken that you’ll be no use to me.”

James left Mac to think about that last sentence, he felt that everyday things just got worse and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. He thought he was broken yesterday, but he bounced back, if James subjected him to days like that constantly, then he’d break again, but he didn’t know if he’d ever return to normal.


	16. Chapter 16

The next five days became the five days from hell, James stuck to his word and Mac spent his days in so much pain that each day just rolled into the other. His only periods of rest were when his father needed to sleep and even those moments were filled with fear, and he was so on edge that only the drugs helped him sleep. His father was relentless, Mac had stayed strong in the first few days but after a while he just wanted it to be over, he would do whatever James wanted if he would only stop torturing him. It seems his father wasn’t convinced that Mac had broken, as the torment continued, not letting up until the sixth day.

Mac was currently in a position he’d found himself in a lot over the last five days, he was in only his boxers, restrained in the corner of the ‘secure room.’ His hands were locked up over his head, he was blindfolded and gagged, and he was leaning all his weight against the wall, not able to hold himself up. He sometimes cried when he was left like this, although usually that only made his father angrier.

He tensed as the door opened, knowing that sound meant one of a few things, either his father was here to feed him, beat him or take him off for one of his experiments. He’d been fed recently so it had to be one of the other two. Mac didn’t even move, he was too tired, and he’d accepted days ago that this was now his life, what was the point in fighting.

“I’ve come to the decision that you’re ready for this process to be over,” James said, standing over his son. “I don’t need to continue your lessons as actively as I have been, but know that they will still be happening, just not as frequently.”

Mac wasn’t sure he’d heard his father correctly, he hadn’t come here to hurt him, there wasn’t going to be any more pain? He felt the material in his mouth come out and he instinctively licked his lips.

“Are you ready to behave?” James asked.

“Yes,” Mac replied, and he meant it.

“I’ll keep an eye on you for the next few days and if you’re obedient and don’t cause any trouble, then we’ll lose a lot of the restraints and you can have some more freedom.”

Mac would be the poster boy of good if it meant that these days of hell were over.

“First thing on the agenda is a shower, I’m sure it will be good to get clean again.”

Mac didn’t say anything, even though he desperately wanted to tell his father that he was stating the obvious. The cold water being dumped on him every so often hadn’t really been good enough, some hot water would feel great.

His father started removing his restraints and he got up, walking a little difficult, he hadn’t been doing much recently. James kept a tight grip on his arm as they walked to the wet room.

“I’m going to take of this blindfold now, the room isn’t too bright so your eyes should be fine,” his father said, untying the knot and removing the material.

It had practically become a permanent fixture and Mac wasn’t sure the last time he wasn’t in the dark. He was a little scared for it to be taken off, he hadn’t looked at himself for a long time and he could imagine he was black and blue. Mac kept his eyes closed, slowly opening them and squinting at the light. It hurt his eyes and he closed them again, putting a hand up to his head.

“I’ll leave it off as long as necessary today so that your eyes can get used to the light again, if you’re going to start helping me around the house then you have to be able to see. Now have your shower but don’t get dressed until I get back, I need to check on your injuries.”

James shut and locked the door and Mac made his way slowly to the shower, wincing when the hot water hit his bruised body. He washed his body gently, his hair more thoroughly, what was left of it, his father had cut it two days ago, saying that it was far too long, and it was getting in the way. He wanted to stay under the spray, but he couldn’t stand any longer, he turned off the water, grabbed a towel and then lowered himself to the floor.

This was where he was when his father came back in.

“Up Angus, I need to check on you and then there’s some work that we need to do,” James said, standing over him with a first aid kit.

Mac wasn’t sure he could get up, he hurt so badly, and he was so tired, pulling himself up would take a lot of effort. He was obviously taking too long as his father sighed, grabbing both his arms and hauling him into a standing position.

“This isn’t a good start Angus, ignoring me already, when I tell you to do something you do it straightaway.”

“I’m sorry Sir,” Mac said, his father wanting to be called that, it was a sign of respect.

“You might regret it later; I’m keeping count and it’ll all add up to more punishment.”

Mac was shaking, but not from the cold, he was scared, he was also finding standing up difficult.

“I can see you’re not gonna be able to stand up without help while I examine you, you’re obviously weaker than I thought you were,” his father said, pulling Mac to the centre of the room.

Mac hoped his father would have him lie down, he didn’t even mind if he tied his wrists and ankles to do it, instead Mac felt his arms being raised. What was happening? He hadn’t noticed before, but there were attachments in the ceiling and his father was securing his wrists to them. If he didn’t at least hold some of his weight then the cuffs were going to dig into his wrists.

“This’ll have to do,” James said, opening the first aid kit and getting to work.

Mac let his chin hit his chest, trying desperately to remain on his feet, he wasn’t even worried that he was standing naked in front of his father. That had happened numerous times after the last five days and he was no longer bothered by it.

James wasn’t gentle and Mac tried to keep in the whimpers and gasps, especially when his father hit a couple of bad spots. Mac was positive that he some broken ribs, he thought he might even have some internal bleeding, he wouldn’t be surprised. Soon the exam was over, his father releasing his wrists, watching Mac crumple to the floor. He closed the first aid box and left the room, returning a minute later.

Mac had pulled himself to his feet, knowing it would be unacceptable to still be on the floor when his father came back.

“You’ve definitely got a couple of broken ribs; I’ll keep an eye on them. The bruising is bad, one place could be worrying, but I can’t take you to a doctor, so we’ll just have to hope it heals on its own. The concussion you had has gone and the electrical burns aren’t infected. The cracking on your lips has increased, you’ll need some ice on them, they’ll probably keep bleeding, but as long as they don’t get worse we won’t have a problem.”

Mac listened to his father list his injuries, praying that none were added to before the day was over, panicking when he wobbled and almost fell.

“You can sit down for a bit in the kitchen and I’ll let you have some painkillers; I need you to be on your feet later to help me. You need to start pulling your weight around here.”

His father handed him some clothes and Mac slowly dressed, he was then led into the kitchen and given some water, some painkillers and some ice for his lips, for the first time Mac could remember he didn’t get secured to the table, his father left him sitting completely free.

Mac dozed at the table after the painkillers kicked in, his father off somewhere, possibly in his workshop. The sleep didn’t last long as soon James came back, walking over and sitting in his usual seat.

“I want you to make lunch Angus,” James said, as Mac sat up. “I’ll let you start easy, just fix some sandwiches for me and some fruit. You can eat after I have.”

Mac got up to do what his father asked, he could do this, cooking wasn’t his best quality, but sandwiches weren’t hard. Not long later Mac was putting his father’s lunch in front of him, sitting back to wait to be told when he could eat.

His father ate slowly, and Mac watched, trying to avert his eyes when James caught him looking, finally the meal was finished and James put his glass to his lips, drinking the last of the apple juice quickly.

“Well done, that was perfect, you can clean this up and then get yourself a small sandwich,” James said, pointing to the table as he was talking.

Again, Mac did as he was told, washing the plates and other bits and pieces. When he got out the items for his lunch, he stopped, his father didn’t specify what type of sandwich, just small, he didn’t want to take more than he was allowed. He made a simple sandwich, bread, a small amount of butter and some cheese. That should be ok. Putting everything away he got out some juice for himself and took it over to the table.

Mac sat down and waited until his father gave him permission to eat, it was something he’d learnt early on in his days from hell.

“The sandwich is fine Angus, but I don’t recall saying you could have a juice.”

“I’m sorry sir.”

“I’ll let it slide this time, you need to get some calories into you, but don’t do it again,” James replied, harshly.

“Yes sir,” Mac said, digging into his food. It was soon finished, and he cleaned up again. Standing next to his father waiting for his next task.

“Let’s go into my workshop for a bit, I’d like your opinion on something.”

Mac nodded and followed his father, stopping inside the door, he wasn’t sure where he should stand.

“Come and sit next to me Angus,” James said, pointing to a chair. “All you need to remember while you’re here, is to keep your hands to yourself.”

Mac nodded again and sat down, waiting for his father to start talking about his inventions. It was crazy for Mac to think that just the day before he was in pain and tied up in the dark, what a difference a day made, as the saying goes. He wouldn’t go back to that, he just had to be obedient, keep quiet and not make any mistakes. He thought he should be able to handle it.

It was starting to get dark when they left the workshop and walked back to the kitchen, James stopping in front of the pantry and opening the door.

“It’s time for a session, you know what to do,” his father said, standing backwards.

Mac nodded; he had been given instructions a couple of times of what was expected of him. He entered the room and took off his t-shirt and trousers, folding them neatly, he then took two items from the same shelf and walked over to the stool. Sitting down and getting comfortable, he placed a strip of material in his mouth and tied it around his head and did the same with his eyes, putting his hands behind his back, waiting patiently for his father to come in and finish securing him. 

“I’m pleased Angus, well done,” James said, pulling Macs hands to attach them to the wall and then securing his legs.

Mac felt the needle in his neck and then the headphones were put over his ears, he waited for the words he knew were coming. His father had made new tapes a few days ago and they were more intense. The tape only lasted an hour, unless his father decided he needed it to be repeated. The words filled Mac’s drugged brain, enforcing what he already knew.

“I will behave, or I will be punished.”

“Trust is earned.”

“There are consequences to my actions.”

“My thoughts and feelings don’t matter”

“I will be broken.”

Those five phrases were repeated over and over throughout the hour. Once again when the hour was up, the headphones were removed, and Mac was left to think about what he’d heard.

“What are you?” James asked, once he’d returned.

“Broken,” Mac replied.

“Do you need to behave?”

“Yes.”

“Do you need to listen to these tapes again?”

“Yes”

“Why?” James always asked that last question, but Mac had never given the right answer.

“Because you’ve told me to and I do as I’m told,” Mac replied, really believing that was true.

“Are there any other reasons?”

“These lessons need to be learnt, so I know how to behave.”

“That’s correct Angus, we will continue these lessons every day for now. Then we’ll see how we go.”

His father removed his restraints and led him into the kitchen.

“Now it’s time for dinner, what are you going to make me?”

Mac stood frozen, he had no idea, his heart started to race, had bowed he spoke. “I’m sorry sir, I don’t know.”

James laughed, “Don’t worry son I don’t expect you to know just yet. I’ll help you for a few days, once you get to know the kitchen and what food there is, then you’ll be able to do it by yourself.”

They made dinner together, James letting Mac eat more than usual, he hoped it was a good sign. Once dinner was finished and cleaned away James sat Mac down so they could have a talk.

“Things have gone well today Angus and I’m pleased,” his father started. “I hope you see that what I had to do to you over the last few days was necessary, if I hadn’t been so aggressive then we probably wouldn’t be where we are now.”

Mac remained quiet, he didn’t believe that what was done to him was necessary, he thought it was barbaric, something must have shown in his face though as his father spoke again.

“I can tell you don’t agree with me, and that worries me. You are being obedient; you’re behaving and saying all the right things and I hope that continues. But if you don’t believe that you deserved what I did to you, then I’m not sure this has worked as well as I’d hoped.”

Mac sighed knowing that today was too good to be true, he just hoped his father would wait to start the torment again.

“I’m not going to do what I did again Angus, if it didn’t work as I intended then it won’t work a second time. That’s not to say there won’t be some form of it as the days and weeks go on. You must learn that this behaviour needs to continue, I can’t have you getting too used to the freedom, that’s where things start to go wrong. We will have sessions in the ‘secure room’ and I want you to know this now. “

Mac breathed a little easier, he was sure he could handle being punished from time to time.

“If I tell you that we’re having a session I expect compliance, whatever I decide to do you will take, no complaints. Is that understood?”

“Yes sir.”

“Then we won’t talk about it anymore. Unless you give me specific reason too I’ll hold off on having any sessions for a few days, to let your injuries heal. Now it’s time for bed, let’s go.”

Mac got up and followed his father, not sure where he would be spending the night, he hadn’t been down to the basement in a while. He got his answer as the door opened and he was ushered down the stairs. He was told to do his business and then sit in the corner.

“I’m going to let you secure yourself tonight,” James said. “I want to start trusting you. Hopefully, I won’t have to follow you down here each time. Until a time when you can have a proper room, this basement is where you’ll sleep. When I say goodnight or I tell you to come down here, you are to secure yourself the same way each time.”

Mac nodded, watching as his father showed him what to do. He was to always clip the ankle cuffs together and then attached the chain to the cuffs, he must then put his arms behind his back and clip the wrist cuffs together, this was more difficult, but it could be done.

“I won’t be sedating you anymore for the night, it’s all part of the trust. If you break that trust the drugs return. I hope you won’t. As tonight is the first night without the sedatives and you disobeyed me earlier, you will have to be blindfolded and gagged.”

Mac nodded again, sitting still as his father put the material around his mouth and eyes.

“Goodnight Angus, I’m hoping tomorrow goes as well as today.”

Mac fell asleep straightaway for the first time in six days, he was as comfortable as he could get and happy that his father was trusting him. He prayed that it continued.


	17. Chapter 17

As Mac was going through his own personal hell the team had a week of hell themselves, there were no new tangible leads and Matty had just finished a meeting with Oversight, telling her that she was to scale back the search. She couldn’t believe the man was so heartless, his best agent was missing, kidnapped by a madman and he wanted to call off the search, saying that they were using too many resources on a dead end. Were they supposed to just give up on Mac and move on with their lives, she didn’t think so.

“Director these have just come for you,” her assistant said, handing Matty same folders.

“Thanks Melony,” Matty said, opening the envelopes, hoping they were what she was expecting.

They were, finally, she’d managed to get the records of the investigation into James MacGyver, she got them out and started going through them.

An hour later and she was feeling sick, this man was evil, oh god she hoped he wasn’t treating Mac like he’d treated some of his prisoners. A knock to the door had her looking up. “Come in.”

“Am I disturbing you?” Cage asked, walking in the door.

“No, come in,” Matty said, looking down at the files again.

“What are you reading?”

“Reports from James MacGyver’s investigation, it’s a fascinating read, really gives an insight into the man. Although I wish I hadn’t read all of this.”

“How so?”

“There are records in here about some of his interrogation techniques and to say they were brutal is being nice, the man was sadistic. Charges were filed against him after a couple got too out of hand.”

“Sometimes interrogators have to be a little sadistic,” Cage responded, being one herself.

“Look I understand that enhanced interrogation is necessary sometimes, I haven’t worked for government agencies for as long as I have to not know this. But these techniques, read for yourself.”

Cage took the papers and began reading, wincing once she got to the end. “I see what you mean.”

“If he does any of that to Mac, it’ll break him,” Matty said, taking the folder back.

“Mac’s stronger than people think,” Cage replied.

“Oh, I know how strong blondie is and that’s what worries me, he’ll resist, fight back and that’ll just make it so much worse.”

“We still don’t know the real reason why James took Mac. Why are you so convinced he’ll torture him?” Cage said, stating ‘real reason’ as they’d been given some clues by the footage they’d seen.

“We know he’s already been hurting him. And I know from what Mac has said that the man was controlling, it’s just a feeling I have.”

Cage nodded; she knew all about gut feelings. “If he breaks him, we’ll just have to fix him.”

Matty liked the way Cage was so matter of fact about things. “I just hope it’s that simple.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Matty asked Cage what she’d come to see her about.

“I’m worried about Jack,” Cage responded, and Matty was surprised, she would have expected to her that from Riley or Bozer, but not Cage.

“I am too, and I’ll be even more worried when I tell him Oversight’s decision.”

“He’s calling off the search?” Cage asked, shock on her face.

“He might as well be, he’s pulled most of our resources, says it’s a dead end. It’s been two weeks Cage and we’ve had no decent leads.”

“Jack won’t except that, hell I don’t except that.”

“You’re preaching to the choir Cage, but it’s out of my hands. I know we don’t have leads and I understand where Oversight is coming from, he has to think of the whole of the agency, not just one agent.”

“There won’t be any leads if no one’s looking for them. Look I appreciate what you’re saying and to an extent I agree as well. Doesn’t he realise that most of us are still doing our jobs. I’m going on assignments with other teams, Riley is running tech support, Bozer is working in the lab.”

“And Jack, one of Oversight’s best agents is sitting on the side-lines.”

“He can’t expect Jack to just brush this off and get back to work, this is Mac we’re talking about.”

“If he wants to keep he job, he’s gonna have to!” Matty exclaimed, leaning back in her chair. “Oversight wants him out on assignment as soon as possible.”

Cage left soon after those words to be replaced by Jack, summoned to the director’s office.

“Have I done something wrong Matty, it’s not often I get called to the principal’s office,” Jack said, smiling as he sat down.

“Hilarious Dalton,” Matty said, glad that Jack still had his sense of humour. “Anderson’s team have an assignment in Peru tomorrow, I need you to go with them.”

“You want me to do what now?”

“You heard me Jack, you have to be wheels up 0600.”

“That’s not happening Matty, I can’t be leaving the country,” Jack replied, staring pleading eyes at his boss. “Please don’t make me have to do that.”

“I’m sorry Jack, it’s not my call, Oversight wants things to start getting back to normal.”

“Normal,” Jack cried. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“As normal as thing can be, without,” Matty paused. “Without Mac here.”

“So, you want me to get on a plane, with another team and do what I do best, and what? Just forget about Mac? Pretend he isn’t going through all amounts of hell, with his monster of a father, somewhere all the brightest minds in LA can’t find. Is that what you want me to do?”

“If you want to keep your job, then yes,” Matty said, the hardest words she had to say, knowing that her friend was hurting.

“Well you know what you can do with your job then, don’t you!” Jack exclaimed, getting up.

“Jack wait.”

“I’m gonna spell this out for you director, there is no way on this god’s green earth I am leaving this country while my kid is missing. You really think it’s a good idea with where my head is at to send me on assignment? I’ll end up getting someone killed, or I’ll end up getting myself killed.”

Jack stood, gripping the back of the chair he was standing behind, breathing deeply.

“You’re right,” Matty said.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, you’re right. We don’t make a habit of sending compromised agents out into the field, your head isn’t on straight. You’ve got some leave due, take it.”

“Now wait a minute Matty, I can’t go on leave.”

“You can and you will. If you decide while you’re out there to look for Mac, then that’s your prerogative. I’ll call you if we get any news.”

Jack smiled, going around the desk and giving his boss a hug. She pushed him away smiling herself. “Get lost Dalton.”

“This feels wrong,” Riley said, as the team sat on Mac’s deck later that night.

“Mac would want us to be here,” Bozer said. “And I’m glad you guys are, it’s been hard, being here by myself.”

Riley looked up, realising how horrible things must have been for Bozer, first his place was a crime scene, then every time he had to come home it was to an empty, quiet place.

“Well, we should do this more then, I don’t want you to be here by yourself.”

Bozer smiled up her the girl he still liked, glad that she was here keeping him company.

“So, what are your plans Jack?” Cage asked, he’d told them all that he’d taken some leave.

“I’m not sure yet, I think I’m gonna go drive up to the house where Mac was kept, poke around the area, see if anyone remembers seeing anything.”

“That’s a good idea, I’ve been scrubbing every camera I can get my hands on, but there aren’t a lot of them around there. James picked a good place to stay off the radar,” Riley said, typing on her rig, the thing like an extra appendage.

“What about where the car was found?” Bozer asked.

“Nothing, again, no cameras.”

“Unfortunately for us, James is old school, he started at the CIA when there wasn’t a lot of digital knowledge, it seems like he’s mostly stayed away from it,” Cage added, sipping her drink.

“No one can stay away from it forever,” Riley replied. “Eventually he’ll slip up and I’ll find him.”

“We know you will Ri,” Jack said, smiling at his girl, she was so smart it was scary. “How about that programme you’ve been telling us about?”

“The surveillance one, it’s almost ready, a few more days and I can give it a trial run. Maybe if you’re gonna be driving around all over you can be my guinea pig.”

Jack smiled again. “If it helps us find Mac, I’ll be whatever you want.”

“Why is this so hard!!” Riley exclaimed, pushing her computer away. “We should have him home already; he should be here with us right now.”

“He will be,” Jack replied, really hoping that he was telling the truth.

“I can’t stop thinking about what’s happening to him,” Bozer said. “I feel guilty getting into bed at night, taking what I want out of the fridge, hell even sitting here talking to you guys.”

“If you think like that you’ll make yourself go crazy,” Cage said. “I know it’s hard, but we have to stop wondering what Mac’s going through now and think about what’s going to happen when he comes home.”

“I’m never letting him out of my sight again,” Jack said.

“I’m gonna cook him all his favourite foods and not even roll my eyes when he tells me useless facts about it all,” Bozer added.

“I’m gonna give him a big hug,” Riley said.

“That’s what we need to focus on, those things.”

“What about you Cage, what are you gonna do?”

“I’m going to tell him that I’ll be there if he needs to talk, and I’ll wait however long he needs.”

They all smiled, thinking about the next time they saw Mac, rather than the last time or worrying what was happening to him. Because if they knew, they’d all feel sick and they would do even more than they were to get him home.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one. It's all Mac, wanted to do it all in one. There's more violence and some uncomfortable scenes.

Mac spent the next few days happy, he was treated well, there were no punishments, he had his sessions with the tapes, but he knew he needed them. The last two nights he had slept with no added restraints and no drugs. He had cooked by himself the night before and hadn’t burnt anything, all in all things were looking up. He knew that it wouldn’t last, that his father didn’t want him getting complacent, but he was hopeful.

He was visited by his father the next morning and was told to have a shower, and he was being allowed to go from the basement to the wet room by himself. It was first time that it had happened. James told him that he wanted another exam before breakfast so all he had to do was wait once he’d dried off.

Mac was waiting patiently when his father walked in.

“Just stand nice and still Angus, this shouldn’t take too long.”

James began his exam, feeling Mac’s ribs and the bruising he’d been worried about, Mac only winced a little, the pain was so much better. He knew that his ribs were still broken but they seemed to be healing well.

“I’m pleased Angus, the bruise I was concerned about has already faded, I’m wondering whether I was wrong about your ribs being broken, maybe there was just a few cracks. Get dressed and join me in the kitchen.”

Mac did just that, hoping his father was right about the ribs, they did feel a lot better. He entered the kitchen to find his father at the table, so he immediately went to fix him some breakfast. They’d gotten into a routine, his father eating and then Mac, being allowed more food as the days went on. James would leave a note on the fridge with his preferences and Mac would make the breakfast and then add anything to the grocery list afterwards. Today his father wanted a cooked breakfast, with orange juice and a coffee, he must have a busy day.

Mac got the food started and took his father’s orange juice over, turning and putting the coffee machine on. He went back to the food, turning the bacon and sausages. He got out the plates, took over condiments and then the coffee machine beeped. Just as he was carrying the mug over the smoke alarm went off startling Mac, he dropped the mug and it smashed on the floor. He froze, knowing the smoke was more important he left the mug and grabbed the food off the hob, managing to silence the alarm.

He turned around and his father was opening windows, letting the smoke out, he stood there waiting for instructions, the food was ruined.

James came over and slapped Mac hard across the face. “Clean this mess up!”

Mac did as he was told, mopping up the coffee and the mug, throwing the food and washing up the dishes. Meanwhile his father had helped himself to some cereal. Once Mac was through he stood off to the side.

James ignored him while he finished his breakfast and then signalled that Mac should clean it up. He did, washing the bowl, spoon and mug. He stood to the side once again.

“Sit down,” James said, getting up.

Mac sat in his seat and watched as his father came towards him, he reached down and pulled Mac’s wrists, securing them, he did the same to his ankles.

“I want you to sit here in silence and think about what just happened. I’ll be back later.”

James walked off and Mac cried, he couldn’t believe just that morning he was happy. Why did he have to ruin everything?

His father walked back in and sat opposite him. “What do you have to say Angus?”

“I’m sorry sir,” Mac said, looking up.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“I’m clumsy and stupid, I should have been more careful,” Mac would literally say anything to get the look off James’s face.

“Damn right you should have been. What did I want for breakfast this morning?

“A cooked breakfast, with orange juice and coffee.”

“And what did I get?”

“Orange juice and cereal.”

“That’s not acceptable, do you understand?”

“Yes sir.”

“And how did you react when I told you to think about your actions?”

Mac looked at his father not sure what he meant.

“You started crying. How pathetic. I need to toughen you up a little.” James moved around to release Mac, pulling him from his seat. “I think it’s time for our first ‘secure room’ session, go.”

Mac walked reluctantly to the room, walking inside, he hadn’t been in there for four days.

James followed him in and told him to remove all his clothes, again he did so reluctantly, scared what was going to happen. His father approached him and pulled his arms up, attaching him to rings on the ceiling, this wasn’t the first time this had happened.

Mac flashed back to that day, he was already black and blue and his father had dragged him from his corner, pulled off his boxers and hung him from the ceiling, he then poured cold water over him, hitting him until he passed out. When he had come to he was still hanging, his father hadn’t taken him down until hours later.

Mac came back to the present to find he’d already been blindfolded, his father then moved away. After that he was left alone, he heard his father leave and he wondered if this was going to be it, unlikely, unless James was leaving him to keep him on edge.

The answer came a minute later when the first punch came, then the second, Mac lost count after a while. He started crying again, he couldn’t help it, it just made his father angrier. Soon he was drifting, the pain was intense, and his mind went someone else. This was what he had done a few times in those days of hell. He thought of Jack and the team, of happier times, and it helped. Unfortunately he had said Jack’s name a couple of times which had enraged his father, that day he didn’t wake up for hours after, that day he had got a concussion and his ribs had broken and that day he promised never to speak Jack’s name again.

Mac gasped when he was covered in cold water, shivering immediately, it felt like the room was ten times colder. He hung from the ceiling, wet and in pain once again, struggling to keep his feet under him. He wasn’t sure how long it was until his father came back but he was so grateful when he released his hands, even though he dropped to the floor, the pain almost sending him unconscious again. He was pulled over to his corner, where he had spent most of his time in this room and his hands were secured above him once more, at least he could lean against the wall.

“You will stay here until this evening; I will let you out to cook for me and you better not mess it up again. If you do there will be more punishment, if you don’t you will be allowed to eat and then sleep.”

Mac didn’t reply, not knowing what to say and his father didn’t say anything else, he felt material brush his face and knew his father was gagging him, afterwards he left the room, slamming the door shut.

Mac took some deep breaths, finding it difficult, if his ribs weren’t broken they certainly were now. He was still cold, and he was worried he was going to get pneumonia, although the room did seem to be warming up.

Hours later Mac was released and told to dress, he wasn’t sure how he made it to the kitchen, but he did, hoping his father didn’t want him to cook something complicated. The note on the fridge said chicken salad, thank god. The chicken went in the oven and Mac set a timer, he then made the salad, adding the dressing he knew his father liked. He leaned on the counter while he was waiting, either his father didn’t notice, or he didn’t care.

Soon the chicken was ready, and Mac served his father, getting him a beer when he asked for one. He leaned against the wall while James ate, he hadn’t been told he could sit down, and he wouldn’t without permission. His stomach protested as he watched his father eat, Mac hadn’t had anything all day, not even a drink of water.

James indicated that Mac should clean up then sit down. Mac slowly complied; his whole body was on fire. Sitting was great, even more so when his father didn’t restrain him.

“You made that well, no more punishment. I may have gone a little overboard today son and I’m sorry,” James said, his hands clasped under his chin. “I had decided last night that if you were healed enough that we needed to have a session, it’s been four days and you know what I said about getting complacent. When you destroyed my breakfast this morning it made me even more determined to do it. Then you cried, only weak men cry son and it angered me, you crying again while you were receiving your punishment made it worse. You should take a beating like a man, not cry and whine and complain. Something came over me and I beat you more than I should of. I’ll make sure I haven’t done too much damage before you sleep, first you can eat something.”

Mac listened to his father’s words, knowing that he was to blame for the pain he was in, if he hadn’t been so clumsy or weak then his father would have only hurt him a little.

“I’ll get your food son, you stay there.”

“No sir, I don’t deserve your help, I should get it myself.” Mac cringed realising he’d spoken without permission.

James stood for a minute then sat back down. “I’m glad you feel that way Angus, that’s what a man would say. Make yourself some toast and get some orange juice, you can bring over a bottle of water too, I don’t want you dehydrated.”

Mac forced himself to get up, not sure that he could eat the toast, he was feeling nauseas, but he would try, or his father might not let him have anything else. An hour later and they were back in the room he’d been beaten in, James checking his injuries. Mac tried so hard not to cry out, he was a man he could take the pain, but he blacked out when his father pressed on a particular spot.

Mac opened his eyes, at least he thought he did, he realised after a few seconds that he was wearing the blindfold again and he was secured in his corner. He guessed his father was disgusted with him, he should be, he passed out, how weak was that.

“Are you awake Angus?” James asked.

“Yes sir, I’m sorry sir.”

“It’s fine son, it was the body’s natural reaction to the pain. I’ve wrapped your ribs and put some ice on that bad bruise, I have some painkillers here.”

Mac felt tablets be pushed into his mouth and then a bottle of water, he swallowed them and then drank as much he was allowed. He then let his father help him empty his bladder. That done he felt James step back.

“I’m going to let you sleep here tonight, it’ll be more comfortable than the basement floor, I’ll keep the blindfold on but leave the gag out, I hope I can trust you.”

Mac sighed, his father thought he couldn’t trust him again, as much as he hated it in his mouth he wanted to please his father. “Put it in, I should wear it.”

“Good boy Angus, I was hoping that’s what you’d say,” James said, fixing the material in place. “Goodnight.”

Mac didn’t deserve his father taking care of him, he should just learn to behave, he made a promise to himself that he would do all he could to be better and if he acted like he had today, then he would expect a punishment exactly like the one he’d received. His father knew best, whatever punishment he decided Mac would take and he would thank his father for giving it to him.

Mac hoped that his father was pleased with him, it had been over a week since he’d awoken the day after his beating to tell James thank you, that he deserved to be punished and that he was sorry he made his father have to hurt him.

Since then they’d settled into a routine. One that Mac was determined to keep, he was the best he could be and didn’t complain when his father punished him, he apologised instead.

There had been moments when he’d faltered badly, disagreeing with James, breaking more china and causing a fire in his father’s workshop. He was still hurting from that; his father had punished him severely. Mac was getting better at not crying, his father slapped him hard each time he did, which helped him to stop.

There had been a new tape made for Mac to listen to and he had been eager to know what was on it, if his father had wanted him to learn new sayings then he needed to hear them. It talked about deserving punishment, that crying was weak, he caused the pain he was in, and one he wasn’t expecting, Jack didn’t want him anymore. Mac realised after he listened to that tape the first time that he must have said Jack’s name again when he was trying to get away from the pain. His father must have heard him.

“I’m sorry,” Mac said, before his father could ask his usual questions after the tape had finished. “I didn’t mean to say Jack’s name, I was in pain and it slipped out.”

“Quiet,” James said, his voice harsh. He asked his questions and then they walked from the room. As they entered the kitchen James slapped Mac, like he did when he cried. Mac hadn’t cried had he?

“I’m sorry sir, I’m sorry,” Mac stuttered. James slapped him again, this time harder.

“You will only speak when spoken to.”

Mac had lowered his head, realising his mistake, his father was right to hit him.

Mac remembered that day like it was yesterday, he had been punished that night and he hadn’t spoken about Jack again, except when his father asked him if ‘Jack wanted him anymore’ in his usual question time and Mac had to answer ‘no’ and why would he. Mac was weak and pathetic; he was surprised his father wanted him around.

James had been letting Mac do more around the house, cleaning, fixing things, he’d even let him go outside for the first time. It had been late evening, his father had said that there would be no one around, but he thought it best not to go out during the day. James had refused to let him wear shoes and it was warm, so he didn’t need a coat. Mac couldn’t remember the last time he’d worn anything on his feet, so he didn’t mind.

“I trust you Angus, but I have to be cautious, so I’m going to secure your wrists and ankles with a short chain.”

Mac nodded, whatever his father thought best. That done they went outside, Mac found it a little difficult to walk so he shuffled out the door, feeling the fresh air on his face for the first time in forever. Except from to and from houses Mac couldn’t remember the last time he’d been outside, it must have been the day before his father had kidnapped him, he’d been out running. Mac shook his head, he shouldn’t be thinking about that, his father had rescued him, and he shouldn’t think about the past, only the future.

“What are you thinking about son?”

“How good the air feels.”

“I’m sorry you haven’t been outside in a while, it’s not safe.”

“Why?” Mac asked, wincing when his father slapped him.

“Let’s go over to the garage, there are somethings I want to take in the house.”

Mac followed as best he could, looking around him, they were in the middle of nowhere, he couldn’t imagine anyone even knew this place existed. When they reached the garage, Mac spoke without thinking again. “Does it take long to get into town? I imagine there’s nowhere for miles.”

James grabbed his t-shirt and pushed him against the wall punching him in the stomach. “I think you need another lesson in only speaking when spoken to.”

They’d gone in soon after that and Mac had been made to wear a gag for the rest of the night and the following day, it only being removed so he could eat. He didn’t know why he found it so difficult to keep his mouth shut, it wasn’t too much to ask. He hadn’t been outside again.

Mac had also been allowed into the living room and could sit like a normal person while they watched films and documentaries. Die Hard had come on the last time they were there and all he could think of the whole way through was that Jack should have been there watching it with him. His father didn’t utter a word the whole movie and Mac drew blood biting his lip because he was afraid he would speak up. When his father asked if he wanted to watch Die Hard 2 he had declined, volunteering to have a session with the tapes instead. He needed to hear the one about Jack not wanting him.

His father seemed to think that was a great idea and told Mac the film was two hours long, so it was perfect. Mac felt better when the drugs started taking effect and he listened to the words, he concentrated hard on the last sentence, needing it to stay in his memory.

He looked up from where he was cleaning the wet room as his father walked in, Mac wasn’t sure as he never really looked at a clock, but he thought it was over a month since he’d been gone. If Jack hadn’t come by now he never was, and James was probably right, he’d been left behind and forgotten about. His whole team probably breathed a sigh of relief when he went missing, he was sure they’d attempted to find him, or maybe looked like they were, but after a week or two they’d all just gotten on with their lives.

“I need you to stop what you’re doing Angus?” James asked. “I need to go out.”

Mac knew what that meant, it didn’t happen very often but when James had to go out he had to make sure Mac was secure and safe before he went. And he didn’t mean just putting him where he usually went.

“Yes sir.”

“Ok, use the bathroom and have some water and then go wait for me,” James said, walking out the door.

Mac put the mop down and did as his father asked, meeting him in the living room. James came over and started prepping the area Mac was going, there was a hidden compartment in the floor underneath the rug.

“Lay down on your side,” James said. Mac did as he was told, lying beside the hole, his wrist and ankle cuffs were secured together, he was then blindfolded and gagged, and James pushed him gently into the compartment.

Mac gasped when his side lit on fire, he had been pushed onto his bruised ribs.

Before he spoke James pushed a needle into his son’s neck, dispensing the shot of sedatives that helped to keep him calm while he was gone. “Sorry Angus, no time to change positions, I need to go, I shouldn’t be gone longer than six hours, I’ll let you out as soon as I get home and we’ll have a late dinner, I’m afraid you’ll have to miss lunch.”

With that the compartment was closed, the rug pulled back over it and James locked up and left the house. His father had said he didn’t like leaving him in the small space for so long, but there was no other way, if for some reason someone came to the house he was well hidden and there was no way that he could try and leave, his father didn’t trust him completely. The shot of sedatives helped, his head was fuzzy enough that he didn’t freak out, the two times before he’d had to go in there he’d managed to fall asleep, maybe he would this time too.

Mac was starting to worry that his father wasn’t coming back, he was sure six hours had gone by, he’d managed to fall asleep, waking with a start when he realised where he was. More than an hour ago he’d started needing the toilet, but he was sure he could hold it until his father returned. It was now at least two hours later, if he were keeping check of time correctly and he was ready to burst, he knew James would be angry if he made a mess though, so he tried desperately to hold it.

Soon though he felt a hot wet feeling go down his leg and he knew that he’d wet himself. He bit his lip, he wouldn’t cry. He wondered if he could lift the lid off the compartment and get out, but if his father were just running a bit late he would be punished for sure. Mac lay there for a bit longer, feeling a little nauseous of the smell. He felt water on his face and realised he was crying; he knew it was weak, but he didn’t want to be stuck here for much longer.

A few minutes later Mac heard what he thought was the front door and he breathed a sigh of relief, bracing himself for his father’s reaction to him wetting himself. The lid was lifted off the compartment and he heard his father speak.

“Did you wet yourself?”

The gag was pulled down so he could answer. “I’m sorry sir.”

“You’re disgusting, you couldn’t be a man and hold it and what’s that on your face, were you crying!”

“I’m sorry sir, you were gone longer than you said.” Mac shouldn’t have said those last words, he felt himself dragged out of the hole, his bruised side hitting the floorboards.

“What did you say?” James cried, punching Mac in his stomach and then slapping him hard in the face. “I’ve got a good mind to shove you back and let you spend the night in there. Would you like that?”

Mac was shaking, his side was on fire again and his stomach and face hurt, the cuffs were digging into his wrists, James was pushing him to the floor and his arms were behind him. Please don’t put me back in there, Mac prayed. He couldn’t be obedient right now, his father had come back late, that wasn’t Mac’s fault.

James let go of him and started pulling off his restraints, pulling him up and dragging him into the wet room.

“Clean yourself up and then you can cook me some dinner. Don’t expect to get any yourself.”

James slammed the door shut and Mac got out of his sticky clothes, gasping when he moved his ribs, he turned on the shower as hot as he could take it stepping under the spray. He had to be quick or his father might come and drag him out. He dressed in the clothes that he’d put on the table earlier after doing the laundry. He picked up the soiled ones, taking them and putting them straight in the washer, he didn’t want the smell to linger.

Mac entered the kitchen in silence, his head down, James was waiting for him, a bucket and sponge was handed to him.

“Go and clean up the mess you made and open some windows, once you’re done put the lid back on the compartment and pull over the rug.”

Mac nodded, taking the items from his father. Bending down was painful but he did it, hoping that he’d cleaned everything to his father’s approval. When Mac returned to the kitchen James was cooking, dammit he was supposed to do that. He put away the cleaning supplies and rushed over, his father would be mad that he had to cook after all.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t quick enough, I’ll take over, you wanted me to cook,” Mac had a habit of rambling when he was nervous. He obviously would never learn.

“Do I need to gag you again!” James exclaimed, pushing Mac away from the counter.

“No sir, I’m sorry.”

“Sit.”

Mac did as he was told, his hands in his lap, eyes down.

Not long after food was put in front of him and his father sat down.

“Eat.”

“No, you said I wasn’t getting any,” Mac replied, pushing the plate away.

James sighed and got up, he put his hand on Mac’s shoulder and pulled him away from the table, backhanding him across the face. He then grabbed his wrists and put his hands on the table, pushing the plate towards him again. “Eat, now.”

Mac was so confused but he did as he was told, his father not saying another word to him, Mac just sat there while James cleaned up the kitchen and then was shocked when his father told him to go to bed and that he’d see him in the morning.

The next morning began differently, Mac was released from his restraints and then told to come for breakfast, when he walked into the kitchen the food was already on the table.

“Eat,” James said, motioning for the cereal.

Mac did as he was told, wincing when the spoon hit his split lip, courtesy of his father’s backhand the night before.

“We need to talk Angus,” James said, once they’d both finished eating. “First I need to give you an apology, then we need to discuss your behaviour last night.”

Mac gulped, he knew that was coming, he’d spoken too much last night, he had a sore face to prove it.

“I don’t know how it happened Angus, but I was gone for nine hours yesterday, far too long and I apologise for my behaviour regarding you wetting yourself. I might have done the same thing.”

Mac was grateful that his father apologised, surely it was only right for him to say sorry if he did something wrong when Mac had to do it all the time.

“The rest of your behaviour was disrespectful, and you will need to be punished for it. Blaming me for being late was hurtful and you shouldn’t have done it, and once again you cried because you’re weak.”

His father was right as usual.

“You spoke out of turn at least five times last night and disobeyed me twice. That behaviour is unacceptable, and you should know better.”

Mac nodded, he didn’t think he’d spoken that many times, but if his father said he did it must be right, he needed to be punished.

“There will be no beating, I can’t risk hurting your ribs anymore, you’re lucky you’re still hurt from the last time.”

Mac breathed a sigh of relief, his father was so kind, he deserved a beating for the way he’d acted.

James got up and opened the pantry door. “You will have more than one session in here, the words are obviously not staying in your head long enough, get yourself ready.”

Mac agreed with his father, he didn’t understand why those words didn’t stay in his head longer, he needed more sessions, the longer the better. Mac got ready and soon the drugs were flowing through his system and the words were filling his head.

Mac wasn’t sure how many times his father played the tapes, definitely more than usual, as he had felt the needle go in his neck again, more sedatives hitting his system. When the headphones were removed Mac was floating, he let his head fall to his chest, and it stayed there until his father returned. His father started speaking but Mac was too dazed to listen, he felt a slap to his face but that didn’t do anything, it wasn’t until water was thrown on him that everything cleared up. The questions started, and he was made to repeat things over and over, his throat was becoming so dry. Finally, his father let him leave, but he pushed him towards the ‘secure room,’ he guessed there was more punishment to come.

Once he was in the room he was secured in his corner, hands once again over his head, James helped him drink a bottle of water. “You will stay in here until I decide the punishment is over,” his father said, fixing material back into Mac’s mouth. There was a pause and then his father pulled his boxers down, helping him empty his bladder. Mac leaned his head against the wall trying to get comfortable and was shocked when his received a couple of blows to the face and uninjured side. His breathing quickened wondering if there would be anymore, his father had said he wouldn’t beat him, but he never said there would be no pain. He relaxed thinking it was over, bad idea, he received another two consecutive blows to his already injured side and his head was slammed into the wall hard enough that he saw stars through his blindfold. He sagged against the restraints, his head falling forward.

“You were too comfortable Angus, it’s not punishment if you’re comfortable”

With those last words James walked out the door turning the lock, leaving Mac in a world of pain, it wasn’t as bad as his last punishment, but it was enough. The side that was already damaged was on fire, Mac was sure that he’d felt his ribs crack. He managed to remain conscious and because of that he heard some strange noises coming from outside the door. Maybe his father was coming back for some reason. There was shouting and banging, and he heard his father’s voice. “You can’t have him.” Someone responded to that, the voice familiar. A minute later and the door crashed open and Mac wasn’t ashamed to admit he whimpered, trying to curl up as tight as he could away from the intruder.

“Oh my god Mac, what has that bastard done to you!”

He knew that voice didn’t he, it was Jack, but that was impossible, Jack didn’t want him anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay. Jack found him :-) Next chapter will be how the team did it


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm happy people are enjoying this. I always worry it's not going to be as good as I think it is. About half way through, hope you continue to enjoy.

Jack was pacing on the deck waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, he knew that things had returned to normality for everyone else and they had responsibilities at the Phoenix, but he needed to speak to them. It had almost been another two weeks since Mac had gone missing, that meant that a whole month had gone by without any of them seeing him. It was killing him that it had been that long, and he was starting to lose it a little.

Matty had called him earlier and told him that she couldn’t let him have any more time off, he either had to come back in the next couple of days or lose his job. He knew deep down that Mac would forgive him for carrying on, but he didn’t have to like it. That’s why he was waiting for everyone, they were gonna have one last brainstorming session, make sure all stones had been turned over before they stopped looking.

Jack knew in his heart that they’d never stop looking, all of them would continue, even if it took years to find Mac again.

He sat down by the fire pit, thinking of the last time he had been there with Mac, it had been the Friday before he’d been taken, they’d just finished an assignment and they had the weekend off, they were discussing what they were gonna do.

“A whole weekend dude, what are you gonna do?” Jack asked, picking up his beer and downing the last of it.

“Chores mostly,” Mac replied, knowing what Jack’s response would be.

“Chores! Are you kidding me?”

“Nobody likes doing them Jack, but they have to be done. I’ve got so much laundry to do it’s gonna probably take me a day to do it.”

“Ok man, you do your chores, while I chill out on the couch in my underwear.”

“Wow Jack, thanks for that image.”

“No problem,” Jack said smiling. “Tell you what, I’ll come over Sunday and bring lunch and we can go take a drive or something. What do you say?

“Sounds good, I’m sure the chores will be down by then. Maybe before we go you could help me fold the laundry.”

“Fold the laundry, shut up, you can fold your own damn laundry. Now pass me another beer.”

Jack smiled, wishing that he come over and helped Mac with his chores. He could’ve slept in the spare room and been there when James had come, then none of this would be happening.

“Hey Jack, you ok?” Bozer asked, walking onto the deck.

“Yeah Boze, just thinking about the last time I saw Mac, telling me he had a whole day of laundry in his future, did I wanna come help him fold it.”

Bozer laughed, picturing that in his head. The smile left his face though when he thought about when he gotten home, after the techs had left and the laundry was still in the dryer. Mac hadn’t even had chance to get it out.

Soon the deck filled with the whole team, even Matty had come, wanting as badly as everyone else to find Mac.

They soon dived into the investigation, everything they needed had already been at Mac’s place for days, Jack was practically living there, using it as his base of operations. Food arrived and the beers were handed out and everyone worked in silence, the odd voice coming when one of them asked a question. A few hours later and Riley’s computer beeped, no one took any notice, Riley’s rig was always beeping, until she spoke.

“Oh my god, I found him.”

“What did you just say?” Jack asked, maybe he had misheard her.

“My programme just gave me a hit, it found James on a surveillance camera.”

Everyone froze, not quite believing it was real, Cage recovered first. “How long ago, is it a recent picture or is it something from days ago?”

Riley was typing fast, everyone willed her to type faster. “It was from tonight, a few hours ago, oh my god.”

“Where?” Bozer asked, coming over to look at the computer himself.

“Kernville. He showed up on an ATM camera.”

“We need to get down there,” Jack said, jumping to his feet.

“Jack, we need more information,” Matty said.

“No, no more stalling, we know where he is.”

“But we don’t Jack, he was using an ATM, he could have stopped there on his way to anywhere,” Cage said, hating to put a downer on things.

Jack sat back down and put his head in his hands. “So, this is another dead end?”

“No,” Riley said. “The footage showed him going to his car, if I can get a plate then we can track it. I’m gonna have to see if there are any more camera’s in the area, the ATM one’s too small, I can’t make anything out.”

“Ok, while Riley does that, let’s start looking at Kernville, see what places are nearby, how far you’d have to drive things like that,” Matty said, picking up her own computer.

Jack nodded, needing something to do.

“I’m gonna make some coffee, I think it’s gonna be a long night,” Bozer said, getting up. He was buzzing, he couldn’t believe they might finally have a lead.

Bozer was right it was a long night, unfortunately it didn’t end with a location, they all took it turns to sleep, knowing that they needed to be fresh. Riley refused until she’d narrowed down the search. It was 8am when she sat up straighter, everyone knew that meant that she’d found something.

“What is it Ri?” Jack asked, stopping the pacing he had been doing on the deck.

“I found the car, I’ve got the registration, running it now.”

They all waited, and Riley would have felt a lot of pressure if she’d been paying attention. All her focus was on her search. “Ok, car is registered to a Tony Filmore.”

“Who?” Bozer asked.

“It’s obviously another car bought in someone else’s name,” Cage said.

“Ok, can you search for properties in this Tony Filmore’s name?” Matty asked, getting her phone ready, she was going to get a team ready as soon as Riley came up with a list.

“This will take a little while guys. Can someone do a search on this Filmore guy, see where he actually might live?”

“I’ll do it,” Cage said, sitting down.

An hour later and they had the information they needed, there were five addresses registered in Filmore’s name but only one was close to where the ATM footage was taken.

“Jack, you take a team and go to that address. Cage I want you to take a team and check out the others, just in case,” Matty said.

“I can’t believe this might be it!” Riley exclaimed. No one wanting to say what she was thinking, what if they were too late again.

Jack and his team walked up the road to the house, not wanting to pull the car up too close, there was hardly any cover. The team surround the place and Jack looked in the front window, he couldn’t believe it, James was sitting at the kitchen table completely alone. He signalled to the team and they breached as silently as they could, he didn’t know where Mac was, so he didn’t want to risk flash bangs.

There was a lot of shouting and banging and Jack had to stop himself from just putting a bullet in James MacGyver there and then. “Where is he?” Jack asked, his voice quiet but deadly.

Jack didn’t think James was going to speak at first and then he screamed. “You can’t have him.”

“The hell I can’t, get him out of here.” 

Jack walked through the kitchen, his mind focused on one thing, finding his kid. He saw a wet room, no sign of Mac in there, there was a shut door to his left, so he tried the handle and found it locked, he kicked it in and froze. He’d found what he was searching for and the kid looked like a shell of who he’d last seen. Mac was restrained so much, and he was trying to shy away as if he thought Jack was gonna hurt him.

He can’t see you idiot, Jack thought of course he’s scared.

“Oh my god Mac, what has that bastard done to you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I picked the town James was seen at random, no idea if it's anywhere near where Mac lives. I live in England so no idea!!


	20. Chapter 20

Jack rushed over to Mac, putting his gun on the floor and touching him gently on the arm, Mac flinched, and Jack didn’t blame him. He immediately reached up and pulled the material away from his face, looking up at the cuffs, seeing how to get them off. What he saw made him want to be sick, the cuffs looked like they had bonded to Mac’s skin they were on there so tight. He turned and saw one of the team in the door.

“Find me some way to get these chains off,” Jack said, turning back to Mac.

“No, can’t,” Mac was saying.

“Can’t what buddy.”

Mac flinched away from Jack’s voice as if it hurt him, but he had to speak up, his father hadn’t said he could leave.

“I have to stay here.”

Jack turned away, not wanting Mac to see the anger in his eyes, the kid’s voice was so quiet, his eyes so sullen.

“Kiddo, you don’t have to stay here a second longer, you’ve been here too long already.”

“I’m safe here.”

Jack felt his heart breaking. “No Mac, you’re not safe, but you will be.”

Mac looked so confused and he wanted to gather him in his arms, but he held back, if the kid flinched when he was touched then he wouldn’t except a hug. While they waited Jack looked at Mac, really looked at him. He was skinnier, if that was possible, he was covered in bruises, some old, some new, to be honest it looked like there were bruises on top of bruises. There were marks that he couldn’t identify. When he looked down he realised that the cuffs that were on his wrists were on his ankles too and he swore.

Mac jumped a mile, he didn’t know what was happening, this guy looked like Jack, but he couldn’t be here, maybe he was dreaming, or he had a concussion. Whoever he was he was being super nice and that wasn’t right, he shouldn’t be nice to him, he was being punished because he’d been bad, maybe this guy didn’t know that. He opened his mouth to speak and then realised that he’d already spoken too much, he needed to be quiet, his punishment would last longer if he weren’t quiet. Why did his gag get taken out, he couldn’t talk with it in, it was much better.

“I’m sorry Mac, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Jack said, watching his kid flinch again. He turned and saw Jackson coming through the door.

“These were in the suspect’s pocket, they should fit the locks,” Jackson spoke, walking towards the door. “I’ll find a blanket.”

Jack looked at the tiny keys, they obviously came with the cuffs, he guessed they were custom made. He was almost sick again when he thought of that, how did James know what size to make them? He put the key in the lock of Mac’s ankle’s first, thought it best not to get his hopes up that his wrists were being released, he had to be so uncomfortable. The key fit and he turned it, sliding the cuffs away from each other. Now for Mac’s wrists.

He reached up and Mac shied away again. “I’ll be gentle buddy, but we need to get you outta here so..”

Mac started breathing fast, he wanted so badly to tell this guy to stop but he couldn’t speak.

“Hey, hey it’s ok. What’s wrong?”

He’d asked Mac a question so that meant he could answer. “I’m not allowed to leave until my punishments over, I haven’t been told it’s finished so I have to stay.”

Jack got up and walked out of the room quickly, he didn’t want Mac to think the anger was directed at him, he wanted to scream, he punched the first thing he saw which was a wall thankfully, not a person. What the hell had that animal been doing? He took a few deep breaths and then went back into the room, Mac looked so vulnerable sitting against that wall, insisting he had to stay, how the hell was he going to convince him he didn’t.

Mac watched the guy get up and leave, he must have listened, the only problem was he didn’t put any of the restraints back on, his father would be mad if he came in and saw that they’d been taken off without his permission. Hopefully at that guy and not at Mac, this time it wasn’t his fault. He sighed and leaned against the wall, he guessed he might as well get comfortable again. As soon as he’d closed his eyes he heard movement and the guy who looked like Jack was back.

“We’re gonna try this again, ok kiddo, I need to take these restraints off, it’s ok, you won’t get in trouble.”

Mac nodded, the guy looked like he was telling the truth, he really hoped he was right.

Jack leaned over and used the tiny key again, releasing each wrist one at a time and gently pulling it down so it was in Mac’s lap. Once both hands were there he breathed easier. He pocketed the keys, they might be able to use them to remove the cuffs, but that should be tried at the hospital, he couldn’t risk it here. Now all he had to do was get Mac out of this house. He had a feeling that was going to be easier said than done.

“Ok, time to go kiddo. Do you need any help?”

Mac sat for a second, listening to the man speak, it was so strange how much he looked and sounded like Jack. He wasn’t sure where they were going and where his father was.

“Where’s my father?”

Jack held his breath to stop himself from yelling, Mac did not need that. He had just spent a month with that man, having god knows what done to him, it was probably an understandable question.

“He’s outside and that’s where we’re going. Are you ready?” Jack hated saying that, but he thought it would make Mac come with him easier.

Mac nodded, getting to his feet, gasping when his new bruises and broken ribs pulled, he quickly hid his pain and started walking, he didn’t want to look weak.

It took everything Jack had not to touch his friend, knowing that he was hurting, Mac obviously wanted to do it by himself, as he went past he got a better look at him. What were those marks on his neck?

“Hold up buddy, I just wanna look at your neck.”

Mac stopped, making sure that this Jack lookalike could see what he wanted, he imagined that he had new bruises, he’d had four injections in the past two days. He never got to see himself in the mirror, so he had no idea how bad it looked. He heard the man suck in a breath and look away, and Mac took that as I sign that he was disappointed or disgusted, he couldn’t tell which.

“Ok, let’s keep going,” Jack said, keeping his voice steady. He had looked closer and the kids’ neck was a mess, there were so many small holes that it looked like he was some sort of weird junkie. God he hoped James had only been giving him sedatives.

They made their way slowly to the kitchen, Jackson approaching with a blanket. Mac ignored him and Jack let it slide, he’d make sure he was wrapped up in the car. As they were nearing the kitchen table, Agent Morgan appeared from a small room.

“Jack, I think you need to take a look at this.”

“I’m a little busy Morgan, just bag everything,” Jack wasn’t about to leave Mac now.

“It’s important sir, and I think it’ll help clear somethings up.”

Jack sighed, knowing that the agent was a good one, if he felt Jack should see something, he probably should. He didn’t want to let Mac go outside without him, so he stopped him at the table.

“Can you sit here a minute kiddo; I promise I’ll be right back.”

Mac did as he was told, talking his usual place at the table, wondering if this man would want him secured before he left. The man just walked off, so Mac sat there quietly, wondering who all these men were and why his father hadn’t told him they were coming.

“What is it Morgan? I really don’t wanna leave Mac by himself.”

“The set up in here is something I’ve seen before when I was overseas. Prisoners were forced to listen to recordings under extreme conditions, it helped to keep them in line.”

“What exactly are you saying?” Jack asked, not liking the sound of that one bit, although he’d heard of similar things happening while he was at the CIA.

“I’ve started listening to a couple of tapes, I think James was trying to brainwash his son, and by the looks of him, he succeeded,” Morgan said, handing some headphones over to Jack. “You need to listen to this one before you go, I’ll box the others up.”

Jack put on the headphones and immediately wanted to rip them off, James’s voice echoing in his ears, the things he was hearing, he couldn’t believe, he listened some more and then froze. Looking at his fellow agent. “How long are these recordings?”

“An hour each, from what I can tell the same phrases are repeated over and over.”

Jack took off the headphones, closing his eyes. No wonder Mac had been confused when he saw him, was acting the way he was. The words ran through his head, ‘Jack doesn’t want you anymore,’ and it seemed that he believed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Mac together again, at last. Sorry if it's not the reunion you were hoping for.


	21. Chapter 21

To say getting Mac back to The Phoenix was exhausting was an understatement, he was on edge the whole time, flinching at noises and sights, asking what was happening, where they were going, where was his father. What hurt the most for Jack was the way he shrunk back when Jack moved too close or raised his hand, as if he were going to hit him. In the end, Jack sat extremely still and gave Mac some headphones to put in, finding some soothing music for him to listen to. It did the trick; the rest of the trip was silent.

They had decided to take Mac to The Phoenix and bring in any specialists they needed, familiar sights and people, before they arrived Jack had told everyone to stay away, knowing that it wasn’t fair on them but also knowing that Mac wouldn’t be able to take it. He had only just accepted Jack and the other members of the tac team.

They got Mac settled in a room, one of the doctors joining them straightaway, he was an army veteran and knew how to handle traumatized soldiers, in a way that’s what Mac was. Before anything could even take place Mac had frozen and then walked to the corner of the room, sitting himself down.

Doctor Fray looked at Jack and then to Mac, deciding that the best course of action was to leave him where he was, he was obviously unhappy on the bed. It would be hard to do a proper exam with him sitting but he’d do his best.

“Mac, do you remember me?” Dr Fray asked, they had met a couple of times, but he wasn’t sure what was happening with his patient’s memory, so thought it best to check.

Mac looked over and nodded, looking down at the floor again closing his eyes. It was too bright in here and it was giving him a headache. He better not say anything though, he’d already asked far too many questions on the way here and he hadn’t even been hit once. Maybe this man in the white coat was here to punish him.

“Is the light bothering you?” Doctor Fray asked, Jack had given him a brief rundown of what he knew and how Mac had been found. He wasn’t sure how long the man had been blindfolded for and he’d had a long car ride on top of that.

Again, Mac nodded. The lights were dimmed, and he opened his eyes, that was much better.

“I’d like to exam you; would that be ok?”

Mac was confused, his father always told him that he needed to examine him, he never asked Mac’s permission, he didn’t have to, so why did this doctor. He remained silent, but nodded for a third time, the doctor would do it anyway, so he wasn’t sure why he had asked.

Dr Fray approached cautiously, not wanting to startle his patient. He knelt, not sure he’s knees would be happy when he got back up. Mac sat up straight and stayed perfectly still, hardly moving even though it was obvious he was in pain.

Dr Fray tried to be quick, there were so many injuries, new and old, that it took a little time for him to make sure there wasn’t anything that needed his immediate attention. Once he was satisfied he moved on to the cuffs, Mac flinching when he picked up one of his wrists.

“How long have these been on?” The doctor hoped Mac would answer.

He had asked a direct question, so Mac felt it safe to speak. “Three weeks.”

Jack cursed behind them and Mac looked over, that seemed so familiar.

“Do they hurt?”

Why did that matter? His father had told him they were always to stay on, it didn’t matter if Mac didn’t like them. He wanted to tell the doctor this but held his tongue. “They’re fine.”

By the look on the doctors face he hadn’t believed him, instead he took something out of his pocket and brought it up to the cuff. It was a key.

“NO!” Mac cried, wrenching his hand away. He wrapped his arms around him and leaned back against the wall. Why were these people taking away everything his father gave him? He started to cry, not being able to stop.

“That’s ok Mac, we’ll leave them on. It won’t do any harm. We’ll wait until you’re ready.”

Jack was approaching and Dr Fray put his hand up to stop him, getting up slowly and motioning for the man to follow him out. Jack obviously didn’t understand and wanted to protest but did as the man asked.

“What the hell doc?” Jack exclaimed as soon as they were outside.

“It might be hard for you or me to understand, but those cuffs are part of him. Removing them without his permission would be detrimental to his recovery. I don’t see any problems leaving them for now, his skin doesn’t appear to be infected, there are some cuts on his wrists where they’ve obviously dug in, but they are healing.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me? Surely us leaving them on, is telling him that we agree he should be wearing them?”

“I don’t agree, at least for now. We’ll try again tomorrow, then the day after, and the day after, until he agrees.”

Jack hated it but nodded. “What’s your opinion on everything else?”

“It would take all day to give you my opinion.” Dr Fray said, shaking his head as he thought of what the young man in the room had been through. “The short of it is, apart from some broken ribs, it looks like most of the bruising is superficial. His father clearly knows how to give a beating without doing too much damage!”

“Good, so what’s the plan?” Jack asked, cringing at the doctor’s words.

“I would like him to have a shower and put some warm clothes on, have something to eat and sleep in the bed, if he will. We’ll think about running any tests tomorrow.”

Jack nodded, opening the door and walking in, finding Mac in the same position as they’d left him. The room was a private one with a bathroom attached.

“I’ll get some clothes and arrange for some food to be brought in,” Dr Fray said. “It’s important that we don’t push him into anything he’s not comfortable with. If staying in that corner makes him feel safe then he can, I’d prefer he didn’t sleep there, but if he’s been sleeping on the floor for a month, one more day isn’t going to hurt him.”

Jack hated it but he knew the doc was right, he would try hard to get Mac to sleep in the bed though, maybe if he stripped it down to the mattress?

“Hey buddy, we thought you’d like a shower. It’s just through that door, I’ll wait here for you.”

Jack thought he would ask if he wanted one, but hint that he should have one by saying he’d wait there for him, hopefully that would be enough. Mac looked up and then over to the door, biting his lip. He was shaking his legs slightly and Jack thought he looked like a child who really needed to pee but was holding it in. He suddenly realised that was probably the case, who knew how long it had been.

“Do you need to go kiddo?”

“Yes.”

Jack smiled; glad he’d got an answer. He pointed to the door. “Toilet’s in there, go and then have a shower.”

Mac got up straightaway and walked into the room, closing the door. He was still so confused but decided he should do as he was told. He wasn’t sure how long he would be there. Relieving himself, he took off his boxers and stepped in the shower. It had a door which he didn’t like, so he left it open. He showered quickly and dried himself, guessing he had to put his old underwear back on. He stood there waiting, he hadn’t been told what to do after or given any clothes to wear. Maybe they expected him to know what to do. He looked around, maybe they had left some clothes.

As Mac searched with his eyes, not his hands, he mustn’t touch anything, he looked up and saw someone staring back at him. This was the first time in a month he’d seen his reflection, he looked terrible, his face was bruised and his lips cracked, his hair was short were his father had cut it, some places shorter than others. His mind went back to the last time he’d looked in a mirror and he smiled, thinking about how happy he’d been. No, that wasn’t right, he couldn’t think about that, his breathing was quickening, and he didn’t know what to do.

Jack sat on the bed, hoping the doc wouldn’t be long with the clothes, he should have waited, if Mac finished he wouldn’t have anything to wear. He was just wondering if he should look for someone when he heard the water turn off. The kid was never that quick in the shower, must be something his father drummed into him. Jack got up, thinking the door would open and Mac would ask about clothes.

There was no door opening and Jack heard Dr Fray come in, putting the clothes on the bed, he was about to speak when a crash come from the bathroom. They both rushed over, Jack reaching the door first.

Mac had smashed the mirror, blood dripping down his hand, glass everywhere. He immediately started moving, he had to clean up his mess, this was unacceptable behaviour.

“Stop,” Jack cried, and Mac froze.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he repeated, tears trailing down his face again.

Jack hadn’t meant to shout but Mac was about to step in broken glass, and he had nothing on his feet. “Oh, buddy it’s ok, you don’t have to cry.”

That was obviously the wrong thing to say, as Mac flinched as if he’d been slapped and he looked at the floor.

Dr Fray stepped in at this point, putting a towel over the glass so that Mac could step out of the bathroom. Leading him over to the bed and telling him that he needed to look at his hand. No one seemed to pay any attention to the fact Mac was completely naked. Not even Mac.

Half an hour later and Mac was dressed, his hand bandaged, a little awkwardly due to the cuff on his wrist and he was now back in the corner.

The glass had been cleaned up and Jack was sitting once again on the bed. He didn’t know what to do, everything he said seemed to make things worse, maybe he just needed to leave Mac alone. That idea left his head as quickly as he’d thought it, Mac had been alone for a month and he’d been told multiple times that Jack didn’t want him, if he left now then it would show the kid his father was right.

“How’re you doing Kiddo?” Not sure he would get any reply Jack asked anyway.

“I’m sorry,” Mac said, probably for the tenth time.

“It’s ok, the mess is cleaned up and we’re all fine, no big deal,” Jack said lightly, hoping that it eased Mac’s suffering.

“It was unacceptable behaviour,” was Mac’s reply instead.

Jack wasn’t sure how to respond to that, if he told him it wasn’t or that it was fine, Mac wouldn’t believe him. He so desperately wanted to but instead he kept quiet. Mac’s next words chilled him though and he needed to step out of the room before he said something he’d regret.

“I should be punished.”


	22. Chapter 22

“How’s Angus,” James asked from where he sat, handcuffed to the table.

“You don’t get to ask that,” Matty replied, her whole body vibrating with anger.

“I was the one who went out yesterday, the one who made sure to be seen. I wanted you to come and find us.”

“Why?”

“The others were taking things too far; I didn’t want to see Angus hurt like that.”

“Your other personalities?” Matty asked, realising this was the one she was glad she was talking to.

James nodded. “Please tell me how my son is.”

“He’s traumatized, broken into tiny little pieces. How do you think he is?”

The was a pause as they both looked at each other, James looking away first.

“I want to know why you took him. It was you that took him right?”

“Yes, it was me, I wanted to keep him safe.”

“Safe!” Matty exclaimed, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You wouldn’t know the meaning of the word.”

“A son needs his father, especially someone like Angus, someone so undisciplined. Sometimes children need a firm hand, they need rules, control, I wanted to give him that.”

“Go on,” Matty said, she wanted to shout so badly that sons didn’t need father’s like him, but she needed as much information as she could get.

“Angus is as bright boy, knows how to get out of tight spots and I knew at first he wouldn’t want to be with me. I had to do what I could, keeping him locked up was for the best, I knew in time he’d come to his senses. The boy is so stubborn though, tried leaving three different times, even after I’d taken more and more away from him.”

Matty gritted her teeth, listening to James speak like he was telling a story. “But you couldn’t let him go?”

“No, that wasn’t an option, the harsher parts of me punished him of course, but he was devious, got me to trust him just enough. His last escape attempt was the most hurtful, knowing he really didn’t want to stay with me.”

“Is that why you moved?”

“No, that was because you were getting too close.”

Matty froze, James was always one step ahead of them, he knew what they were doing.

“I knew when you found Oliver, knew it was only a matter of time before you found the house. My timeline had to be stepped up a little and unfortunately Angus suffered because of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had hoped to stay at the first house until Angus was settled, until he wanted to stay. Moving to my place, the one I wanted us to live in together, when he still wasn’t ready, well parts of me weren’t too happy with that. I’ve got a sadistic side, he seemed to come out a lot when we moved.”

Matty felt sick, had all this been their fault, if they hadn’t had searched? What was she thinking, the only person to blame was James.

“You didn’t take part in any of it?”

“Oh, to a degree I knew that something needed to be done, I was the one who made the cuffs, knew someone like Angus would need something like that. I had to have control over him. Some of his injuries came from me, none of the serious ones. No that was all him. We’d been at the new place a couple of days and he took over. Do you know what he did?”

Matty shook her head, she didn’t think she wanted to know.

“He tortured Angus for five days straight, only took breaks to sleep, on the sixth day my son broke. That’s the boy you see now. Part of me was pleased, he was so much more obedient, respectful, he had his moments, but things were getting better. But the torture didn’t stop, he kept it up and I couldn’t except it anymore. You have to believe that I only want what’s best for my son.”

Matty stood up and left the room, trying desperately not to show any emotion, once she was in the corridor she let it out, tears in her eyes, nausea running through her. She leant against the wall, breathing deep.

“Matty, are you ok?” Cage asked, coming around the corner.

“No, I don’t think I’ll ever be ok again.”

“You’ve been in with James?”

Matty nodded, moving away from the wall, walking where it was quieter. “He was telling me a lovely story about how sons should be with their fathers, but that they need discipline, control. The things he said. But the worst of it, the reason I’m out here wanting to throw up my lunch.” Matty paused. “He told me that his more sadistic side, tortured Mac for five days straight, then he broke on the sixth.”

Cage closed her eyes; she couldn’t imagine what Mac had gone through. She hadn’t seen him yet, but she’d spoken to one of the tac team, Agent Jackson, he’d told her how they’d found Mac, about some of the things in the house. She’d heard about the brainwashing technique, unfortunately she knew all about it, it was brutal. She was going to listen to the recordings that they’d brought back, wanting to be able to help Mac as best she could. She looked at her boss and knew that she couldn’t have her go back and talk to James, she was too emotional.

“I’ll finish talking to him, get as much information as he can give. We need to know everything that man did to Mac, otherwise we might not be able to help him.”

“Are you sure? You’re not emotionless Cage, and this is about a friend.”

“I can set my emotions aside better than you, sorry, but it’s true. I’ve got this, we don’t know how long he’s going to want to talk, we need to do this now.”

Matty nodded, knowing that Cage was right. She walked away, watching her agent prepare herself and walk into the interrogation room. What she needed to do was to talk to Jack. He had to know what James had said, even though she knew it would kill him. And she wanted to see Mac. She understood why Jack told them to stay away and she’d spoken to Dr Fray, knew what had been happening. She wouldn’t stay long, she might not even talk to him, she just needed to see him for herself, know that he was really here, really back and really safe.

When she reached Mac’s room she found Jack outside pacing, that wasn’t good.

“Jack, what happened?”

“What happened? What hasn’t happened. I don’t think I can do this Matty. That’s not Mac in there, that’s his shell, all of Mac’s been taken out.”

“Oh ok, we’ll just send him back to his father then, now you can’t handle it!” Matty cried, needing to snap Jack out of his tailspin. “Pull yourself together Dalton, that kid needs you. I don’t care if there’s nothing left of the old Mac, we’ll help him build a new one. We can’t give up on him.”

Jack sighed, running his hands over his face, sitting on a chair that was nearby. “I’m sorry Matty, I didn’t mean any of that.”

“I know Jack, this is going to get frustrating and you need to be able to deal with that. You storming out probably hasn’t helped a kid who’s confused and doesn’t really know what’s going on.”

Jack realised Matty was right, looking over at the door. He needed to get himself together. “Did you hear he smashed a mirror?”

Matty nodded, she’d stopped off to get an update before coming to see Jack.

“Mac told me that his behaviour was unacceptable. Do you know what he said next?”

It was like with James, she didn’t want to know, but knew she had to. “What?”

“He told me he needed to be punished.”

Matty closed her eyes, shaking her head. She sat down next to her friend, saying something that he wouldn’t want to hear. “It’s not surprising Jack. He’s been conditioned to know he’ll be punished if he does something bad. He’s not just going to snap out of it.”

“You’ve talked to James?” Jack asked.

“How could you tell.”

Jack smiled. “I know you; you’re upset.”

Matty nodded. “You need to stay calm when I tell you what he’s told me so far, getting upset isn’t going to help Mac. If you want to go down to the gym later and destroy a few punching bags then I won’t stop you. But right now, you need to breath and just take it in.”

“Ok Matty, tell me.”

So, she did, reciting everything James had said, telling him that Cage was getting more details as they spoke. She also told him that she was going to bring in the best trauma psychologist she could find, even if she had to pay for them herself.

She had to give Jack some credit, he didn’t blow up or even swear, he just nodded. “Can I kill him once we’ve got all we need?

“As much as I would love to say yes, that’s not gonna help anyone. Least of all Mac.”

Jack nodded, not really caring, he just wanted to put a bullet between the man’s eyes. He didn’t deserve to still be walking around.

They both got up a minute later, knowing that they’d left Mac on his own for too long. Matty said she just wanted to pop her head in and then she would leave them to it, she needed to brief Oversight anyway.

As they walked into the room they both smiled slightly, Mac was curled up on the floor in the corner fast asleep. Jack took a blanket from the bed and laid it over his friend, hoping that Mac slept for a while. He said goodbye to Matty and then got comfortable in the chair in the opposite corner to where Mac was. Luckily, it was a padded chair and not standard hospital issue, so he thought he should be good to wait there for as long as it took. Part of him thought about doing what Matty suggested and punching his anger away, but he didn’t want to leave Mac again, preferring to watch him sleep, however creepy it looked. He decided to take a picture and send it to the others, knowing that they were eager to see that Mac was ok. He was far from it, but at least he was home, safe and sleeping, that’s all they could ask for right now, the rest would come with time.


	23. Chapter 23

For the first time in a month, Mac woke up to find himself free of any restraints. When he’d been left alone the night before he had assumed that that was his punishment, he hadn’t been fed and no one had come back, he thought for sure he would wake up to find someone had secured him during the night. He didn’t understand. When he sat up, he looked over and saw the Jack lookalike sitting in a chair. Maybe that was what had happened, rather than locking him up they’d had someone watch him instead.

“Morning kiddo, did you sleep ok?”

“Yes.” Mac replied, wondering why the man had asked and why did he keep calling him kiddo? He pulled himself up, wondering if he should ask to use the toilet, it was right there, and he didn’t need permission to use his bucket.

Jack could see Mac glancing to the bathroom door, and he realised the kid was looking for approval. “Go ahead buddy.”

Mac got up and went in leaving the door open. Jack sighed, hoping that they would get some sort of routine going soon, he needed Mac to feel confident doing certain things, without looking so scared.

Jack had watched Mac sleep for a while, the kid had looked so peaceful. Dr Fray had come in and told him he wanted Jack to shower and eat and he would keep an eye on Mac. He wanted to say no, but knew it would do him good, when he’d returned he’d fallen asleep and he felt refreshed and ready for a new day.

While Mac was in the bathroom a nurse came in with some breakfast, bringing enough for both occupants. Dr Fray wanted Mac to eat, and then he would come in and see about sending him for some tests.

Jack was upset that Mac hadn’t eaten the night before, he had no way of knowing the last time the kid had eaten and it didn’t seem right. He hadn’t wanted to wake him up though. When Mac came back, Jack stopped him.

“Breakfast is here.”

Mac looked over and saw that there were plates and glasses on a table over the bed, he wasn’t sure what to take, so he sat back down against the wall, hoping that he would be given what he was allowed.

Jack sighed, hoping that the kid would have sat on the bed to eat. Maybe later. He got up and took over the tray, settling on the floor himself. If Mac wouldn’t come to him, he would go to Mac. He passed over the breakfast the nurse had indicated was for Mac. Something light, seeing as they had no way to know what his diet had been like. Then started eating his food. Mac just sat looking at the food, maybe he wasn’t used to so much.

“Eat Mac, don’t worry if you can’t manage it all.”

The word eat seemed to be all it took and Mac took the bowl, the contents soon gone, the juice finished and put neatly back on the tray.

Jack bit his lip, his anger clear, by the looks of it the kid wasn’t even allowed to eat without permission. Finishing his own cereal, he carried the tray back over to the table, sitting on the bed.

“Dr Fray will be back in a bit, he said he might want you to have some tests,” Jack said, wanting Mac to be prepared.

What kind of tests, Mac thought, maybe they were like the sessions his father had him do? That was a scary thought, at least he knew what to expect at home, he didn’t know what they’d make him do here. He hoped there wasn’t any pain, he was hurting enough already, although like his father said, if he deserved it then it didn’t matter, sessions were there to either help Mac, or to punish him when he was bad. He had to except that, regardless of how he might feel.

Mac sat there quietly, waiting, flinching slightly when the door opened, and the doctor came in.

“Good morning Mac,” the doctor said, approaching him.

Mac looked up, seeing that the doctor was carrying a small tray with him. There was a needle on it and Mac guessed that he needed to be given some sedatives for his tests. He turned his head so that his neck was exposed, hoping this man was quick like his father.

“You’re not getting an injection Mac; I need to take some blood. Can you give me your left arm please?”

Mac complied, wondering why, he guessed the man was a doctor. Doctor’s took blood, didn’t they? The needle went in smoothly and a couple of vials were filled, it was painless.

“If it’s ok with you Mac I’d like you to have a few scans. I want to make sure there’s no damage inside you that we don’t know about. You have quite a few bruises and a few ribs appear broken.”

Maybe this was why he was here. His father had said a few times that he was worried about some of his injuries, but they couldn’t go to a doctor. It was possible that he’d found a doctor that would see him. If that was the case he better be good and do as he was told. The doctor would no doubt report back to his father if he were obedient or not. He thought back to smashing the mirror, that was going to earn him a beating for sure, he better not mess up anymore. He nodded.

While Mac went for his scans, Jack decided to find the rest of the team to fill them in on what was happening. He knew that Riley and Bozer were keen to see Mac, he felt bad that they hadn’t been able to, knowing he wouldn’t have been able to stay away if he’d been asked. He hoped that he’d find them in the war room, and he was right. It was just the two of them which Jack was pleased about, he didn’t want to talk to too many people.

“Jack, how is he?” Riley asked as soon as she saw him.

“Docs taken him for some tests, thought I better bring you guys an update.”

“This is killing us Jack, knowing Mac’s here but we still can’t see him!” Bozer exclaimed, looking upset.

“I know Boze, and I’m sorry, but if you had seen him you’d know I was right. Hell, even I feel like I shouldn’t be there.”

“It’s that bad?” Riley asked.

“It’s worse.”

They all sat in silence for a minute, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Tell us.” Riley spoke up, looking at Jack, preparing herself for the worst.

“Are you sure?”

Riley nodded and Bozer agreed. Jack told them all that had happened since he’d found Mac tied up to just ten minutes ago when he’d immediately assumed he was being drugged when he saw a needle. He stopped a few times when one of them looked sick or that they couldn’t go on, Jack gave them credit though, they stayed tough throughout, even when he told them what Matty told him about the torture.

“Do you think he’ll ever be the same?” Riley asked, her voice shaky, she’d been crying.

“I hope so Ri. But all we can do is help him get stronger, and if he’s never the same Mac again, we have to except that.”

“He’ll always be Mac, no matter what,” Bozer said, swallowing hard against the nausea he was feeling, not knowing how his friend was still alive let alone not completely crazy.

Jack nodded, getting out his phone when it went off. “Mac’s coming back from his test’s and the doc wants me to meet him. I’ll let you guys know how it goes.”

Without a backwards glance Jack headed back to medical, hoping there wasn’t any bad news.

When Jack opened the door and looked at the bed, there was no Mac, instead he was back in his corner. Dr Fray was sitting in the chair Jack had spent the night in.

“Is he ok doc, he looks a little out of it?”

“We had to give him a sedative to calm him down.”

Jack looked shocked; the kid had already been pumped with enough sedatives. “What the hell for?”

“He wouldn’t lay on the bed to get the tests done and he became very agitated, I decided that a slight sedation was better than putting him in restraints. Seeing as it’s clearly happened before.”

“He’s been sedated lots of times before too doc, please tell me you didn’t stick it in his neck?”

“Of course not. But maybe that would have been better. He had to be pinned down so that his arm was still enough for me to get the needle in. He stilled immediately when the hands were holding him down, I’m afraid we might have traumatized him even more.”

Jack couldn’t believe what he was hearing, the poor kid couldn’t catch a break.

“I put a port in the back of his hand while his was calm, so if we need to give him anything else we won’t have to hold him down again. We finished all the tests. He’s got three broken ribs, two on his right side, one on his left, his whole insides are one big bruise, his kidneys are the worst, but I’m hopeful as he rests they’ll bounce back. I could only give him an ultrasound, sticking him in an MRI with those cuffs wouldn’t be a good idea, maybe in a few days if he’s not better we might have to attempt it.”

“If the kid was out of it when he was brought back, why isn’t he in bed?” Jack asked, flinching when he thought about Mac’s broken ribs, he knew how painful that was.

“I made the decision to put him on the floor. If he woke up on the bed and got agitated again he could hurt himself.”

Jack hated the fact that it looked like the kid had just been dumped on the floor, but knew the doc was right. He hated to think what Mac’s reaction was going to be after he realised he’d been drugged, they were trying to get him to trust them, this would push that back.

Mac tried not to let on that he was awake, he didn’t want anyone to know, he’d been so bad when they had tried to run their tests that they’d sedated him. He could still feel their hands pinning him down, he was sure one of them had hit him in the side as well. What was his father going to think? He was still not restrained, and he was tempted to secure himself, the cuffs were still on, he did it all the time at home. He stopped himself though, maybe there was a reason behind it, he didn’t want to make anything worse.

“Hey kiddo, you don’t look comfortable lying like that, shall I help you sit up?” The man who sounded like Jack was back, he wouldn’t look weak in front of him, so he pushed himself up and lent against the wall.

Mac looked over and saw the doctor, was he here to punish him some more?

“I’ve wrapped your ribs; you need to rest so that they can heal. Lying somewhere soft like the bed would be preferable. I need you to drink plenty too, there is a lot of bruising on your kidneys, flushing them out is the best way to heal them. So, plenty of fluids and empty your bladder regularly.”

Jack handed Mac a bottle of water. “That means you don’t have to ask permission to use the toilet, go when you need to. Ok?”

Mac nodded, they were trying to make him better, he had to do whatever they asked so he could go home, he wouldn’t sleep on the bed though, his father had forbidden it. He could rest fine on the floor, this one was soft, which was what the doctor had suggested. He so desperately wanted to ask when he was going home, but he didn’t want to speak out of turn.

“Mac, what do you want to ask? I can tell there’s a question,” Jack asked, seeing his friend’s eyes crinkle, it was a sure indication.

“When am I going home? Father won’t want me away for too long, it’s not safe.”

Jack got up and walked over to the doc, not sure how he was going to answer that, if he said never then Mac would probably get upset, but he didn’t want to lie.

“Soon,” Dr Fray said. “Just rest for now and drink that whole bottle. We’ll make sure you get some more soon.”

Mac nodded, sipping the water, soon probably meant a couple of days. He better hope that he was fixed when his father next saw him. He wondered if his father would wait to punish him, it seemed silly to heal up and then get hurt again. But if he did deserve a beating, then his father could always bring him to this doctor again. Maybe that would be what would happen, if his father had to hurt him too badly this doctor would fix him, so his father didn’t have to worry. Mac would be ok with that, at least when he was here he wasn’t tied up.

Dr Fray and Jack stepped outside.

“Soon?” Jack asked.

“I was better than saying nothing at all.” And Jack supposed he was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel I should run and hide, sorry if Mac's reaction came as a shock. Don't worry things will get better, eventually :-)


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A warning, this chapter contains quite graphic (in my opinion) details of torture. Cage is speaking to James.

Cage was talking to the psychologist Matty had brought in, bringing her up to speed on all James had told her. She was the best in her field and had helped hundreds of people come back from all types of trauma, she specialized in people who’d be tortured, so she’d be perfect for Mac.

“If I need to I’ll tell you every last word James said to me, it might be easier for you to watch the recording though, it might take me some time to get it all out,” Cage said, knowing she didn’t want to talk about what she’d heard, but wanting to do anything if it’d help Mac.

“I can tell that it’ll be hard for you to relive, so I’ll watch the recording. The more I know before I see Mac the better, if the first session doesn’t end well, he won’t trust me, and I won’t be able to help him.”

Cage nodded, pleased that she was being read like a book, it was unusual for her show her emotions so easily. But after the interrogation with Mac’s father she was on edge, her emotions on show like an open wound.

She’d walked into the room with confidence, interrogation was her specialty, she knew how to push her emotions down.

“Hello Mr MacGyver, I’m Agent Cage, may I call you James?”

“I know who you are Samantha, where’s Director Webber?” James had replied, leaning back in his chair.

“She was called away, you’ll talk to me now,” Cage replied, ignoring his use of her first name.

She sat down, looking at the monster in front of her and getting ready to make him spill his secrets.

“I need you to tell me everything you did to your son, the more details the better.”

“You like the details don’t you, I think you and I are a lot alike, Agent Cage.”

“We’re nothing alike Mr MacGyver, believe me. Now where would you like to start?”

“Shall we start with the first time I beat my son? Do you want to know why I did it?”

“Why?”

“To get the fire out of his eyes. The fire that’s in your eyes right now. A broken child shouldn’t have such defiance, a broken child shouldn’t be able to look his father straight in the eye.”

“And you had to teach him a lesson?”

“Exactly,” James replied, smiling. “First I made him afraid, and then I made him vulnerable, then I disorientated him. Soon he was naked, blindfolded and secured tightly in place. Then I alternated beating him, catching him off guard with loud noises, as soon as his body relaxed it started again, the final humiliation was dousing him in cold water and leaving him to wonder if there’d be any more torment. I came back and dried him off, couldn’t get him catching pneumonia, I was as rough as possible though, had to keep up the pain.”

Cage kept her face emotionless as James continued the story, calmly telling her that he’d brainwashed the kid for hours straight after and that the kid had been broken.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t last,” James said, sighing as if it was a terrible inconvenience.

“What didn’t?” Cage asked, thinking she already knew.

“Him being broken, a few days later and the defiance was back, the brainwashing that worked so well didn’t have any effect.”

“Is that when you decided to up your game, I hear you tortured Mac for five days.”

“That’s exactly what I did. I knew torture worked, so instead of just a few hours I figured if I did enough to the boy in a few days, he’d break completely for sure. Are you ready to hear all the juicy details?”

Cage wasn’t sure if she could, not knowing that it was Mac that James was talking about, but she nodded, he was smiling, and she knew that this was the sadist Matty was talking about. She just hoped she could handle it.

“You have to be careful when torturing someone for that long, you have to know how much a human body can take and a human mind. There’s no point breaking someone’s will to have their body broken too much and visa versa. Plus, Angus’s body had already been beaten once days earlier, the canvas wasn’t fresh.”

Cage reacted to that, it sounded like something Murdoc would say and that chilled her to the bone.

“The first two days, Angus held his own, he was hurting and wanted it to stop but he could obviously take more, by the end of the third day I could tell that he needed a break. Not he was broken so I should stop, but if I carried on like I was, I might take things too far. That night I let him sleep, I couldn’t go without sleep anymore either, I’m not getting any younger, so we both had a reprieve, it lasted eight hours. Now in my eight hours I slept in a comfy bed, warm and peaceful, Angus on the other hand I wasn’t going to give him anywhere near that, he still needed to be suffering, I returned in the morning refreshed, and we continued. He was more alert, ready for the torment to continue.” James took a break, leaning forward to look at Cage. “Are you enjoying the story?”

“It’s not much of a story, I still don’t hear any details,” Cage hated her words, but she had to get him to reveal more. She knew that Mac had suffered, she needed more.

“You are very impatient, but very well. I’ll give you some details.” And he began, telling her every little thing that he had done, starting at the beginning. “Angus didn’t know what to expect of course, I took him in to the room and hung his hands from the ceiling, blindfolding him. I then stripped him of his clothes, that bit of dignity gone, he stayed that way from start to finish, was easier that way. Like I said when I started, he’d been beaten not long before and I was worried about hurting him again that way, even though he was expecting it. Didn’t want a rib to puncture a lung, that wouldn’t do. So, I had to hurt him another way. I poured freezing cold water over him and shocked him with a cattle prod I’d made. Seeing the way his body arched, the way he screamed, it was the best way I could have started it, lots of pain but no permanent injury. I kept that up for a couple of hours, giving him some breaks in between, dumping more freezing cold water over him. He wet himself halfway through, he probably was thankful for the water after that, I left him hanging while I had some lunch, had to keep my strength up.”

Cage shifted in her sit, trying hard to stop the pictures forming in her head.

“When I came back I let him have some water, just enough to keep him functioning, then I disorientated him, loud noises, slapping and hitting him, I kicked his legs out from under him a couple of times, each time it took longer for him to stand up. Throughout the whole thing I was telling him how weak he was, how pathetic, how he might as well break and stop wasting my time. It was getting late and he’d been hanging from his wrists all day, so I let him down. I didn’t give him time to register that he was even on the floor, I dragged him over to the corner, I named it his corner after the five days were up, he spent a lot of time there. I couldn’t have him falling asleep while I was having dinner, so I gave him a stimulant.”

Cage looked up; she wasn’t expecting that.

“It meant he couldn’t fall asleep even if he wanted to. It was so good that I decided to have a power nap, knowing he would be on edge until the drug wore off. When I came back I pulled him away from his corner, taking him over to the wall off to the side. I chained him up, spread eagle, stretching his limbs as far as I could but still allowing him to stay upright. I fixed a restraint around his neck so he couldn’t move it and used my cattle prob again, it was even better when he couldn’t move an inch, he couldn’t even get away from the pain. I kept it up all night. I few shocks every hour, every hour he thought it was over, by the time the sun started coming through the clouds his body was so tense I thought it would break. Shall we move on to day two?”

Cage nodded, she had four more days to get through and she was already feeling sick. He rambled on about the pain he caused, the torment, she listened to every word. He had said he’d finally let Mac have something to eat at the end of the second day, he needed him to keep some strength.

“He had to rely on me for everything Agent Cage, I kept him tied up throughout, drinking water I had to put the bottle to his lips, I had to feed him, having him open his mouth like a baby bird, I even had to help him empty his bladder, telling him he needed to say ‘I need to go’ when he felt the need to urinate. The one thing we both forgot about, is what goes in must come out, I was feeding him small amounts and eventually it would be digested. He soiled himself on day three, I made him lay in it for hours, telling him he brought it on himself, when eventually even I couldn’t take the smell I hosed him down, moving him away, chained him back to the wall and leaving him to shiver. I didn’t feed him for a while after that.”

Cage shifted a little, her hands closing into fists under the table. Basic human necessities and James had made Mac completely reliant. No wonder he must get permission to eat and use the bathroom.

“After he’d soiled himself and I’d left him, it was getting late, I decided to use the cattle prob on him some more and then that night I slept again, but Angus wasn’t allowed, I made sure he was tightly attached to the wall and filled him full of stimulants, I knew he’d be uncomfortable the whole night, unable to move or sleep. I came in the next morning to find he’d wet himself again, he was mumbling, calling out for Jack.”

Cage looked up, thankfully James wasn’t looking, or he would have seen the emotion in her eyes.

“I soaked him with water, slapping him hard across the face, how dare he speak that name. I released him and left him shivering on the floor again, tying him tightly again so he couldn’t move, I had breakfast and then I beat him. I started beating him while he was on the floor, then hung him from the ceiling and beat him some more, so much that he passed out. I left him hanging and went to have lunch. When I came back I knew I shouldn’t hit him, but I was angry, I felt his ribs break and I stopped, bringing out the cattle prod again. I once again left him hanging all day, putting him back in his corner for the night. I decided to let him sleep so I sedated him, knowing that the last day would be intense, I needed him strong. I fed him in the morning, let him drink a whole bottle of water, I think he thought that I was stopping the torment. I wasn’t, I hung him from the ceiling again, alternating beating him, and using the cattle prod, deciding that the last day needed to have more psychological torture, I changed positions so he was attached to the wall again and went and got the tapes, put them on repeat, alternating with the drugs, sedating him, then giving him a stimulant. By the time, the day was over he was shaking so much, it was finished. I’d decided that the next day I was going to let him out of the room. I left him in his corner that evening, but didn’t give him any drugs, I don’t know if he slept but he was awake the next day. And the next day he was as obedient as a dog, did anything I wanted, eager to please. Would you like to know anything else Agent Cage?”

Samantha had stood up, looking at the man with hatred in her eyes. “No thank you James, I think you’ve told me enough.” She then walked calmly from the room, only making it across the corridor outside before she was being sick, she was leaned over a trash can, breathing quickly when she felt a hand on her back.

“Cage?” It was Matty, she let herself be led to a chair, her head pushed between her legs, she was hyperventilating. “In and out, just breath Sam, it’s ok.”

“He’s a psychopath, what he did to Mac, I can’t believe he’s even functioning,” Cage said, through gasped breaths. “I need some time, then I can go back in.”

“The hell you are. I’ll have someone take James to holding, and you are going home. Tomorrow I’ll get another agent talk to him.”

“Matty,” Cage tried to reply.

“No buts Cage, don’t come back until the morning. I need you here, I’ve contacted a psychologist and she’s arriving at 11am. She’s the best in her field, she’ll wanna talk to anyone who’s had contact with James.”

Cage nodded, praying that the woman could help, it was going to take a lot to bring Mac back, but they would do it. She knew they would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've now finished this, so all I need to do is update. I was also thinking of doing a sequel. I know that this is still going for you guys but let me know if you'd be interested in a sequel, don't wanna start writing it for no reason :-)


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next few chapters are longer than some others, I just couldn't stop writing :-)

“Firstly, I’d like to say how great it is to see how many people Mac has in his corner, it’ll be great for his recovery,” Dr Vanessa Barnes said. “I’ve reviewed all the footage and recordings I can, not a fun morning I can guarantee, and I wanted to discuss what steps we should take going forward.”

It was 2pm and the whole team along with Doctor Fray was sitting in the war room in a meeting with Mac’s psychologist. Mac himself was currently ready some books in his room, hesitantly moving to the chair from the floor, a chair seemed more acceptable than a bed.

“You’re the expert doc,” Jack said, hoping this woman was going to be able to help.

“That is true, but I don’t know Mac, I haven’t even met him yet. The only things I know about him are the horrible things he’s been subjected to. I’d like you guys to tell me a bit about him.”

“Mac’s Mac,” Bozer said laughing, the others smiling at that.

“Obviously, that means something to all of you,” Vanessa asked, smiling herself.

“He just mean’s Mac’s one of a kind, there’s no one out there like him,” Riley said. “The way his mind works, it’s crazy, he’s like a walking encyclopaedia, comes up with a solution for something with the most random things.”

“Chewing gum and duct tape,” Jack said, thinking back to their time in Afghanistan. Explaining after a confused look. “They were like his go to items when we were working together in the army.”

“He was an EOD tech, is that right?”

“The best damn EOD tech you’ll ever meet,” Jack replied.

“I can see you’re very proud,” Vanessa said, knowing from what she’d been told that Jack thought of Mac like a son.

“I am.”

“So, he’s good with his hands then, good at fixing things, making things? He’s smart. What else?”

“He’s loyal and kind, would help anyone and everyone if he could,” Matty spoke, watching everyone nod.

“What about his relationship with his father, when he was growing up?”

“It wasn’t great,” Bozer said, he was the best one to know.

“You’ve known Mac since you were kids?”

“Yeah, I’ve known Mac the longest, knew his dad too. Didn’t see the guy a lot, we usually went to my house or the tree house we built, I only really went to Mac’s house if I was meeting him there to go somewhere. His dad was strict, controlling, when we were little I didn’t really think much about it, Mac always seemed ok. But when you grow up you notice things more, pick up on things people say. Mac doesn’t talk about his father much, but what he does say, well let’s just say if a stranger heard some of the things he said you’d think automatically his dad was abusive.”

“He used to hit him?” Vanessa asked.

“Mac never came out and said he did, but there were times he had bruises that he couldn’t explain, said he’d fallen over but looking back I think he was lying.”

“You’ve never said this before Boze,” Jack said.

“It’s never really come up before, Mac doesn’t wanna talk about it, so I never said anything.”

“Ok, so not a great relationship then. In a way it makes this easier,” Vanessa said, quickly explaining herself. “If you have a great relationship with a parent and then something happens and you get hurt by them badly, it’s harder to deal with than if the relationship was strained in the beginning. If his father was in anyway abusive in his childhood, then the trauma he’s received now while horrible is somewhat expected.”

Jack supposed he understood, it wasn’t like his daddy suddenly losing his marbles and attacking him, that would have been a difficult pill to swallow. “So, what now?”

“I need to observe Mac for a bit, I know that sounds creepy, but it’ll help, how was he when you left?”

“Well he finally got up from the floor and sat in a chair, not sure if he’ll still be there when I get back or not. He’s convinced he’s only here for a bit and that he’ll be going back soon.”

“What?” Riley exclaimed. Jack winced; he’d forgot he hadn’t given them an update recently.

“Sorry Ri, I didn’t mean to blurt that out. Basically, when Mac got back from his tests he asked when he was going home, saying that his father wouldn’t want him gone for long cos it wasn’t safe.”

“I see,” Vanessa said. “And what did you say?”

“Actually, I answered, told him the only thing I thought would keep him calm, soon.” Dr Fray said.

“You told him he was going back home, to his father? Are you crazy!” Bozer cried.

“It’s ok Mr Bozer, it was probably the best thing that could be said,” Vanessa defended her colleague. “Mac is fragile, confused. Suddenly pulling the rug from under him and telling him he’s never seeing his father again, never going back to the place he’s started to call home, it wouldn’t be good for him. We need to do that slowly.”

Everyone sat back, realising that it was going to be a long road.

“I need everyone on board with this, if you can’t handle it you need to say now. We’ll have to find the best way of him seeing you all again, it can’t be too much, from what I hear he hasn’t even excepted Jack yet.”

“It’s like somehow he doesn’t know it’s me, like I’m just some guy who’s looking after him.”

“He was told over and over that you didn’t want him anymore, who knows what else was said to him that we don’t know about. He’s probably convinced himself that none of you want him around, maybe even that you’re all pleased he’s gone. He hasn’t seen you in so long and I’m sure his father kept him from talking about you. It’ll take some time, but eventually he’ll except you all back again. Right let’s go and see how he is.”

They all parted ways, Jack leading the way with the two doctors back to Mac’s room. Dr Barnes was going to slip into the room and sit herself away from everything to observe, hopefully Mac wouldn’t even acknowledge her. Then Jack would come in followed by Dr Fray.

Mac had been reading the books that he’d been given, pleased to be able to do something, he thought he’d read them before, but he wasn’t sure. He was starting to get hungry and was sure it had been a while since breakfast, maybe he wasn’t allowed lunch today. It was fine, his father had him miss meals sometimes, he was used to it.

He was thirsty too, the bottle of water he’d been given this morning was finished, it was strange because the doctor had said he had to keep hydrated. He couldn’t do that without anyone giving him water. The door opened and someone walked in, it was a woman, maybe she was here to bring him something.

Vanessa smiled at Mac as she walked in, he’d look up as soon as the door opened, she didn’t speak just walked to the corner opposite him and sat down, there was a folding chair propped there, she took out her note book, praying that Mac went back to what he was doing.

Mac wondered what the woman was doing, she hadn’t said anything, just sat in the corner, writing on a notepad, maybe she was here to watch him, perhaps he’d done something wrong, he had been sitting in the chair for a while. He got up, leaving the books and going back to his corner. He’d sit there quietly and maybe she’d go away.

Jack walked in and noticed immediately that Mac wasn’t on the chair, he looked to Vanessa, seeing she’d got herself settled. She nodded to the other corner, of course that’s where Mac was. Dr Fray followed him in.

“Did you like the books kiddo?” Jack asked, noticing that they were both sitting on the chair.

“Yes, thank you.”

“You can keep them, I don’t need them back,” Jack replied, putting them on the floor beside Mac.

Mac stayed quiet, the only sound his stomach protesting that it was hungry, he put his hand on it, putting his head down.

Jack laughed. “Hungry huh, you didn’t eat that long ago.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t need anything,” Mac replied, his head still down, the man probably thought he’d done it on purpose.

“It’s ok buddy, if you’re hungry you can have something, right doc.”

“Of course, maybe just a snack, dinner will be here in a few hours.”

Mac needed them to know he wasn’t being needy; they might be angry that he couldn’t miss a meal. “I can wait, I’m not that hungry, breakfast wasn’t that long ago.”

“Breakfast?” Jack asked. “What about lunch?”

Mac was confused, were they testing him. “I didn’t have lunch, but that’s ok, I can miss meals, I’ll wait until dinner.”

“Lunch was being served when we left,” Jack said, looking over at the doc.

“Mac, did someone come in and bring you any lunch?” Dr Fray asked. “Don’t worry you’re not in trouble, we think it might be a mistake.”

Mac shook his head, wondering if they’d forgot about him.

“What about something to drink?”

“Just the bottle this morning. It’s ok, I’m not thirsty,” Mac said, he was fiddling with the pocket on the hoody he was wearing, he liked wearing it, it was soft, and it made him feel safe.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Dr Fray said, not looking happy.

Jack looked at Vanessa who looked concerned, then sat on the chair. “Mac, can you look at me?”

Mac did as he was told, chewing on his lip.

“I want you to listen ok. While you’re here, there’ll be no missing meals. If you’re hungry or you need a drink, you’re allowed to have something. I don’t want you to feel like you have to be afraid to ask, ok.”

Mac just nodded, looking down again. He didn’t even look up when the door opened.

“Apparently the staff were under the impression this room was off limits, so no one thought they had to bring Mac anything,” Dr Fray told Jack, walking over to where Mac was. “Here you go Mac, some water and an orange juice, you’ll have to wait for dinner for a proper meal, but I bought you some chips and an apple. I’m sorry that you missed lunch, it won’t happen again.”

“Thank you, sorry to be a bother,” Mac said, drinking the orange juice and taking the food as if he thought it’d be taken away.

“You’re not, it’s not your fault that my staff got their wires crossed. I’ll come back later, make sure you get your dinner.” He walked over to Jack. “I’ve let everyone know the situation, I think I was a genuine mistake, I’m just glad we found out.”

Jack nodded, hoping it didn’t happen again, he wished he had made sure Mac was eating before he went for the meeting, then this wouldn’t have happened. He watched Mac eating, the kid wedged into the corner like he wanted to be far away from everything, he kept seeing him play with the hoody and he smiled, it was his and Mac had always liked it.

A few hours later and Mac was reading again, with a bit of encouragement from Jack, when the doc walked in with dinner.

“Dinnertime buddy, why don’t we sit on the bed and eat it,” Jack said, Vanessa had mentioned that if they kept asking, he should eventually agree.

Mac looked up, watching the man get on the bed sitting with his legs crossed, he didn’t know what to do, this strange Jack lookalike was so nice, and he really wanted him off the floor. But his father’s words were in his head, telling him he didn’t deserve to sleep in a bed. He supposed he would be sitting and not sleeping, maybe that would be ok. He got up stepping closer, he was shaking, and he didn’t know if he could do it.

Jack tried not to look at Mac, thinking one wrong move or word could stop him in his tracks, he watched him approach the bed out of the corner of his eye. He smiled slightly when Mac got to the bed and touched it, Mac smiled shyly and then looked straight down again, Jack so badly wanted to lift his chin up.

Slowly Mac sat on the bed, sitting legs crossed as well, taking his dinner from the doctor. He waited out of habit for some to tell him to eat.

“Eat it while it’s hot kiddo.”

So, Mac did, staying on the bed the whole way through, Jack could feel the bed shaking from how Mac’s body was vibrating, but he didn’t want to speak. As soon as the meal was finished Mac put the tray on the bed beside him getting straight up and wedging himself back in the corner.

Jack sighed, but it was a start, next would be getting him to lay down.

When Mac was asleep, Vanessa motioned for Jack to join her outside, wanting to discuss what she’d witnessed.

“Well done for getting him to sit on the bed, I could tell it was a big moment.”

“It was, his whole body was shaking, I was worried he wouldn’t be able to eat.”

“I’m concerned about a couple of things,” Vanessa said.

“Only a couple?”

“The whole issue around meals, the way he was fine about missing them, adamant he wasn’t hungry when that was clearly a lie. But also, not eating until he’s given permission, that worries me.”

“We knew he’d been missing some meals, but I don’t know how often it happens. As for the permission, I’ve just been doing it cos I don’t want him not to eat.”

“We need to get that sorted first I think, otherwise someone needs to always be near him when it’s mealtime, that can’t always be the case.”

Jack nodded, he agreed.

“His confidence is non-existent; from just this evening I can tell he’s on edge most of the time and that’s not good for his body or his mind. I also don’t think I’ve worked with someone this silent before, that could be a challenge. Was Mac a very chatty person before?”

“He was happiest when he was by himself, working on a project, he was always chatty when he got excited about something, loved talking about his experiments or something he’d learnt. But if ya got him in a room with a load of personalities like me or Boze he’d be as quiet as a mouse.”

“Ok, I think it’s best I observe some more tomorrow and then I’ll talk to him later in the day, I need to think about my approach a little more. Goodnight Jack.”

“Night doc, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jack headed back in the room, using the bathroom and then getting in the bed, if Mac wasn’t going to use it that night Jack might as well, couldn’t sleep in a chair for too long, his back couldn’t take it. He soon drifted off to sleep, praying that the next day was better for his kid, he hated to see him so vulnerable and not be able to do anything to help. Usually if Mac were sick or hurt, Jack would pull him close and run his fingers through his hair, it usually calmed him instantly. He knew that wouldn’t be happening for a bit but hoped he could inch his way closer to Mac, and he’d let him give him some comfort sooner rather than later.


	26. Chapter 26

The next morning started off uneventful, Jack woke up to find Mac sitting with his books, he’d have to bring the kid some more, he knew he’d read them both already. Breakfast came and they ate in silence, Jack wanting to talk, but he didn’t want to push until he’d spoken to Vanessa. He got a text from Matty asking him to meet her in Dr Fray’s office as soon as he could. He felt ok leaving Mac knowing he’d had eaten.

“Hey kiddo, I’ve gotta go to a meeting, why don’t you have a shower and change your clothes, there’s fresh ones in that cupboard, I shouldn’t be gone too long.”

“Ok,” Mac said, happy that he was being allowed another shower. He hoped he could keep the hoody, but he didn’t want to ask. He looked up and then down at it, biting his lip again.

“That hoodies yours now, you can wear it however much you want,” Jack said, watching the small debate go on in Mac’s head. He then left, hurrying to the meeting.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Jack asked, walking in.

“We were just talking about how long we should leave it before telling Mac he’s not going home,” Matty said.

“I’m worried about dragging it out too long, it’s been almost two days since he was told ‘soon’, I would say he’ll start thinking by tomorrow that he’ll be leaving,” Vanessa said. “I don’t want him to go through all that emotion if he doesn’t have to.”

“So, you want to tell him today?” Jack asked, sitting down. “I think he’s getting comfortable, or as comfortable as he can get. He almost asked me if he could keep the hoody I gave him, when I told him it was his, a weight seemed to lift off his shoulders.”

“That’s good, probably best to leave it until tomorrow, I still want to assess him today. I also want to discuss the cuffs.”

“He needs those gone, they’re just a reminder.”

“I agree in some respects, but again we have to tread lightly. He’s had them on for a long time, they don’t seem to bother him.”

“What so we just leave them on?”

“No, definitely not. It needs to be his choice though. The best thing for us to do is at least wait until he knows he’s not going back before we bring it up. So, we leave the topic alone until tomorrow afternoon, the day after preferably. Dr Fray has said there’s no medical reason they need to be removed sooner.”

“I took another look yesterday, the surrounding skin is fine, obviously I can’t say what the skin underneath will look like, but usually if there was an infection we’d be seeing some signs.”

“I just hate seeing them, it’s a constant reminder,” Jack said, rubbing his hand down his face.

“I totally understand, except this isn’t about you, this is about Mac,” Vanessa replied.

Jack nodded; he’d do whatever he could to make things easier on his kid.

They continued discussing their course of action for the day. Meanwhile Mac had taken off his hoody, folding it up and putting it on the chair, getting some clean clothes and going to take a shower.

The water felt really good, it soothed his still bruised skin and he wished he could stay under there for longer. He wanted to be finished before anyone came back though, he never knew if someone was going to be angry at him for doing things. He dried himself off hearing a noise in the room, damn someone was there already. He quickly dressed and walked out, wanting to grab the hoody and sit down. He looked up and there was a strange man in the room, gathering the breakfast things, that was ok, the man was just cleaning up.

He ignored him and reached the chair, the hoody wasn’t there, his breathing quickened, where was it. He knew he’d put it there, maybe it’d fallen to the floor, nothing. He looked up, maybe the man had moved it accidently, he wanted to ask but couldn’t get the words out, he couldn’t lose that hoody, it was his.

The man turned to look at him and he saw the material sticking out of his bag, before he knew what he was doing Mac was walking over, grabbing it.

“Hey, get away from there,” the man said, pushing Mac back.

“It’s mine,” Mac said, not caring that he wasn’t behaving like he should.

“Finders Keepers and all that, now get away from me I‘ve got a job to finish.”

The man went to turn, and Mac grabbed the bag, the man was stealing from him. As he pulled the man lost his balance, the breakfast stuff smashing to the floor, Mac froze, he was going to be in so much trouble.

“You little shit,” the man cried, backhanding Mac across the face, then grabbing his upper arm hard and pushing him across the room. He twisted his arm behind his back pushing him against the wall.

Mac was breathing hard, shaking, he couldn’t believe what he’d done, this man was going to punish him for sure, he supposed he deserved it.

“What are you, some sort of criminal?” The man asked.

Mac was confused, what did he mean by that, he soon found out as the man pulled his other arm behind him like his father did when he cuffed his wrists together. He felt the click and then man shoved him to the floor hard, his broken ribs hitting one of the books and he whimpered, backing up and curling into the wall. He heard the man swear and then run out of the room.

Mac started crying, he thought he was safe here, he was finally starting to believe that the Jack look alike was his friend, but it was all a lie. They were probably all working for his father. He heard someone come into the room and gasp, but he wasn’t interested, he just sat waiting for his father to come, he knew he was in a load of trouble. 

“You need to come quickly, something bad has happened to Agent MacGyver,” a nurse said, popping her head in the door.

They all followed her, she didn’t know much, only that he looked hurt and he was crying.

“Dammit I wasn’t gone long,” Jack cried, finally getting to the door. He went over, thinking maybe Mac had fallen, what he saw chilled him to the bone. “What the hell, who did that to him?”

“Let me though,” Dr Fray said. “Did what?” He looked down and saw what Jack was referring to, the cuffs around Mac’s wrists were locked behind his back.

“I swear to god, when I find whoever did this I’ll kill them!” Jack exclaimed.

“Get in line,” Matty said, taking the nurse outside to question her about what happened.

Jack approached Mac carefully taking the keys from the doctor, he knelt and touched Mac’s arm gently. “Mac, I’m gonna take these cuffs apart ok.”

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault, I’m sorry,” Mac was repeating.

“No kiddo, it’s not your fault, I promise,” Jack said, he had no idea what had happened, but he couldn’t have done anything to deserve what had been done to him.

Jack gently unlocked the cuffs and Mac pulled his arms away to wrap around him, gasping when they touched his ribs. “Mac are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

Wow that was such a Mac response that it threw Jack for a minute.

“Mac, if you’re hurting, I can help,” Dr Fray said. “But you need to turn and face us so I can have a look.”

Mac’s breathing slowed a little, the tears slowing, he moved gently so that he was sitting with his back to the wall. Jack sucked in a breath, seeing the split lip and bruise already forming on Mac’s upper arm.

“Are your ribs hurting?” Dr Fray asked.

Mac nodded, a few more tears falling, he went to bite his lip but cried out when his teeth touched the open wound. He started crying again in earnest, Jack wanting to just gather him up in his arms.

Dr Fray got up and said he’d be back, Vanessa crouched down, wishing there were something she could do.

“I’m sorry,” Mac was mumbling once more, he couldn’t believe he was crying this hard, whatever would his father think.

“Don’t worry hoss, it’s ok,” Jack did the only thing he thought Mac might accept, patting him on his leg.

Mac froze he recognized that voice, didn’t he, he thought he’d imagined the likeness, but it was Jack, he was sure of it.

Vanessa was looking around the room, trying to see what had happened, there was a bag near the door and the breakfast things smashed on the floor. She walked over, pulling a hoody out of the bag, things becoming clearer.

“Here you go Mac, I think this belongs to you,” Vanessa said, handing Mac the hoody.

Mac looked up and grabbed it so fast she was sure it had hurt him, he hugged it to his chest, breathing a little easier.

Dr Fray came back and bent down once more. “I’ve got some ice for your face and some painkillers; I think you need them. Will you let me give them to you?”

“Yes please,” Mac said, feeling better now that he had his hoody back, he was in pain though, it hurt every time he breathed.

“We’ll let them kick in and then I’ll check you ribs, make sure they’re still ok.”

Mac nodded, leaning his head against the wall again.

“Let’s give him some space,” Dr Fray said, everyone getting up and leaving.

He didn’t want everyone to leave, everyone always left him, maybe he deserved it, but he didn’t want to be on his own. If that man were Jack, he wouldn’t leave, would he? The man got up with the others, turning away. Mac whimpered, tears falling, he was shaking, and he didn’t care, his father could beat him all he liked, he was upset, and he didn’t want to be alone.

“Jack,” he whispered. “Don’t leave.”

Jack turned, had he just heard what he thought he had, the kid was a mess, he was shaking so hard he thought he’d break another rib if he weren’t careful, sobbing into the hoody. He turned back, sitting right beside Mac, ready to get back up if he’d heard wrong and Mac didn’t want him there. Instead Mac leant against him his hand coming to grip the fabric of his shirt.

“Don’t leave me.”

“I’m not going anywhere kiddo, I’m staying right here, for as long as you want.”

An hour later found Mac curled up into Jack’s side fast asleep, wiped out by the stress and pain of the morning, Dr Fray had injected the morphine into the port he’d had inserted and then left the room, determined to get to the bottom of what had happened.

Vanessa was sitting on the chair opposite the pair, her brow furrowed.

“What is it?” Jack whispered, not wanting to wake Mac up.

“I’m glad Mac’s finally realised who you are, I’m just concerned this isn’t going to last.”

“Don’t worry doc, as much as this feels great, I know he’s probably going to push me away once he wakes up.”

Vanessa raised her eyebrows, shocked that Jack knew what she was thinking. “Why do you say that?”

“You said yourself he’s traumatised, he’s not just going to do a one eighty and suddenly be fine with people touching him, go back to the way things were. I’m hopeful he’ll know it’s me and talk to me, but I think this is a one off, for now. His emotions got the best of him and he was in pain, that can-do strange things to the body and the mind.”

“Are you sure you’re not a psychologist too?” She smiled, glad that they were on the same page. “Are you happy for me to stay until he wakes up? I think it might be a good time to do my assessment.”

“Sure, I’m happy where I am right now. You can’t imagine how hard it’s been not being able to give him a hug.”

“I can imagine.”

They sat there in silence, both watching Mac, knowing as soon as he woke up, Jack was right, he pushed himself away, leaning into the wall instead, his favourite words coming out. “I’m sorry.”

Jack got up slowly, moved away but sat back down. “It’s ok kiddo, you haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Are you sure?” Mac asked, looking down at his lap.

“Yeah, of course. Whoever hurt you will be the one in trouble, not you.”

“It was my fault, I deserved it.” Mac cried out, flinching slightly after he’d spoke.

Jack looked at Vanessa and she decided to speak. “What did you do that was so bad?”

Mac looked up, it was the nice lady who’d given him his hoody, he didn’t know who she was, but she’d asked a question. “I grabbed his bag and made him drop what he was carrying, it all smashed.”

“And why did you grab his bag?”

“He had my hoody.”

Vanessa nodded, knowing that the hoody was important, and Mac would have wanted to get it back. “Did you ask for it back first?”

“Yes, but he said ‘finders keepers’. I got mad and tried to grab it, and I shouldn’t have done that.”

“So, the man hurt you and you think that’s ok?”

“Of course, I did something bad and he punished me, father probably would’ve done worse than hit me and cuff my hands together.”

“Did you mean for the breakfast things to smash?”

“No, but that doesn’t matter, I caused it, so it’s my fault.”

“Ok, I understand,” Vanessa said, shaking her head to stop Jack from interfering. “Do you do a lot of bad stuff at home?”

“All the time,” Mac replied.

“What sort of things?”

“Breaking things, disobeying my father, asking too many questions. Lots of things.”

“And you get punished for it.”

“Wouldn’t you punish someone so bad?” Mac asked, then realised he’d spoken wrong, lowering his head.

“What are some of the worst things you’ve done?” Vanessa wanted the conversation to continue, it seem Mac would speak fine, but only if asked a direct question.

“I ruined my fathers breakfast once and broke a coffee mug and then I cried when he left me to think about what I’d done. And I started a small fire in his workshop.”

“And how did he punish you for those?”

“I was made to strip and wear a blindfold and he restrained my tightly so I couldn’t move, then he beat me. He poured freezing cold water over me once he was done and left me to think about what had happened. It hurt a lot, especially when he came in and dried me with a towel, he kept hitting the bruises. Oh but the fire punishment was much worse, it lasted longer, and he hung me from the ceiling for that one, he didn’t just beat me and use the water, he used the cattle prod too, I knew he was mad when that came out. That punishment lasted for hours and he left me for longer, that wasn’t that long ago, sometime last week.”

Jack was sitting rigid, his hands formed into fists, his breathing deep, he wanted to hit something, and he thought he’d have to leave soon, or he’d scare Mac.

Vanessa looked calm on the outside, on the inside she was screaming, Mac was telling her about those punishments like they were the most natural thing in the world. Nobody should think like that, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to make Mac see that those things weren’t what he deserved, that his father was a monster who had abused him. She decided she had enough for now and wanted to get the subject changed, knowing that Jack was struggling too. “Are you hungry Mac? I think it’s time for lunch.”

Mac looked at her, unsure what he should say, he was hungry, but he didn’t think he should have lunch, they’d just discussed him being bad and needing punishment. If he said yes, she might just say tough, he didn’t deserve food. He almost bit his lip again, he wasn’t sure.

“I’ll go and get something and then you can decide,” Vanessa said, seeing that the choice was frustrating him. “Jack, give me a hand.”

“I’ll be right back kiddo.” Mac nodded, he’d be ok, Jack always came back eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I couldn't stop torturing Mac just yet


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys might hate me after this one, sorry in advance.

Jack and Vanessa walked slightly down the corridor before either of them spoke, not wanting Mac to overhear.

“What the hell was that?” Jack exclaimed, his hand pointing back to the room they’d just left. “He just spoke so calmly, like it was the most natural thing in the world. ‘Oh yeah my father hung me from the ceiling and beat me, no big deal.’

“As crazy as it sounds, it is normal for him. I hate it and we need to get that notion out of his head as quickly as we can, but his father has conditioned him into knowing he’ll be punished when he’s bad. In his and his father’s eyes, things we wouldn’t class as bad are,” Vanessa replied. “I’m afraid that what happened this morning is just going to make telling him he won’t get punished for being bad here that much harder.”

“Another reason to take off those cuffs, if they’d been gone already, that wouldn’t have happened,” Jack said, already annoyed that they hadn’t been taken off yet.

“That might be true, but my initial statement still stands. We have to let Mac decide to have them removed, we can’t force him, that would just defeat what we’re trying to do.”

Jack closed his eyes, knowing that the doc was right, he couldn’t believe someone at Phoenix had done something like that to the kid, whoever they were could count themselves lucky they wouldn’t have Jack to answer to. They had Matty instead and that made him smile, she was ruthless, they would crack just from one look from her.

“I need to go to the gym, get some of this energy out,” Jack said, his fists still closing off and on. “I don’t wanna leave the kid though.”

“I’ll stay, we’ll have some lunch and I’ll try to get him to talk some more. To be honest it might be good for as to chat alone for a while.”

“Ok, I’ll be back in an hour or two then. Is that enough time?”

“Plenty.”

Jack nodded and headed off to the gym, he wanted to stop and get Mac some more books on the way back and have some lunch himself, two hours would hopefully be enough time.

Back in Mac’s room, he was still sitting where they’d left him, but he now had his hoody back on. He knew he’d have to give it back when he left, his father wouldn’t allow him to have such luxuries, so he wanted to wear it as much as he could. He was thinking about all the questions the woman with the notebook had asked him, sure now that she was there to keep an eye on him for his father. He had to be careful what he said, knowing that she’d be reporting back. If his father didn’t like any of his answers then there’d be more punishment.

Mac knew she’d be back soon, she was going to get them some lunch, he had already decided he wouldn’t eat anything unless she told him to, he didn’t want to be caught doing something he shouldn’t. When he was punished he usually missed meals, sometimes he didn’t eat all day, he’d had breakfast so he would wait until dinner, providing nothing happened between now and then. He really wanted to leave, he knew what he did wrong at home, knew that it would lead to being punished, could usually tell what punishment he would receive and how long it would last. Here he was on edge because he never knew what was going to happen.

Mac looked up when the door opened, the woman was back and she was alone, carrying in a tray and putting it on the bed.

“I’ve brought some food, it’s there if you’d like to have some,” Vanessa said, hoping that he would come and join her.

Mac stayed where he was, she hadn’t told him to eat so he wasn’t going to attempt it, better to be safe and avoid getting hurt. He did take the bottle of water she handed him though, he was thirsty.

Vanessa pulled the folding chair over to the bed, sitting sideways so she could still see Mac, she was worried that he hadn’t even attempted to take any food. Once she’d finished her lunch she’d ask him why he hadn’t had any. They sat in silence, Vanessa eating slowly, observing Mac as she did.

“I’d like to continue the talk we were having earlier,” Vanessa said, moving back to sit on the chair nearer to Mac. “I’ve just realised I’ve not introduced myself, I’m Dr Vanessa Barnes.”

Mac sat there, looking at her, she was a doctor too, his father obviously knew quite a few, he wondered why they’d never met before.

“Why didn’t you take any food Mac?” She knew the answer but wanted to get Mac to explain.

This was obviously another test, Mac thought, surely his father had explained everything Mac was and wasn’t allowed to do. “I mustn’t eat without permission.”

“Why?”

“Because Father decides whether I’m allowed food and how much. I can’t take any because it isn’t mine to take.”

Vanessa nodded. “I understand. What happens when you’re hungry?”

Mac looked confused, not understanding what she meant.

“If you don’t get permission to eat but you’re hungry, what do you do?”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m hungry, I can go days without food and it won’t hurt me, father knows best.”

Vanessa wrote something down, she needed to make sure Mac was eating regularly, or it would halt his recovery and that meant someone was going to have to give him permission. She moved on.

“I wanted to ask about the cuffs you have on. Do you like wearing them?”

“I have to wear them,” Mac replied, knowing it didn’t matter if he liked them.

“What if I said you didn’t have to wear them, what would you say?” Vanessa asked, she was interested to hear the response.

Mac furrowed his brow, clearly thinking it through. “Father said these were to make it easier to secure me when he needed to. I don’t think he’d want me to take them off.” Mac paused. “I suppose if they were removed, I could be restrained other ways, before I wore these, father used rope to tie my wrists and ankles.”

“What if you didn’t need to be secured or restrained anymore?” Vanessa wasn’t sure if it were too soon to broach that subject but wanted to see Mac’s reaction.

“That’s not going to happen,” Mac said instantly, his head down. “I don’t deserve to have too much freedom, and I’m still going to have to be punished so being restrained is necessary.”

Vanessa wrote some more down, starting to feel a little hopeless, this case was going to be hard, there were so many things they needed Mac to overcome. Of course, it would take time, patience and a lot of coaching, she just wondered if she would be able to get all the things that his father had drummed into him out of his mind. Obviously, it wouldn’t be simple. She needed to tell Mac that he wasn’t going home and that he’d never see his father again. Deciding to wait until Jack came back before she did.

“Why do you have to sleep on the floor Mac?” Vanessa asked, wanting to get him into the bed as quickly as possible.

“I don’t deserve to sleep on a mattress.”

“Why?”

“I had a mattress when my father first brought me to his house, I destroyed it. That means I’m never allowed one again.” Mac shifted were he sat, playing with his hoody.

“Why did you destroy it?”

“To try and escape. I used one of the coils to pick the lock on my cuff. I shouldn’t have done it.”

“Are you happy sleeping on the floor all the time?”

Mac shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“It must be uncomfortable when you’re hurt?”

“It is, I wake up in pain a lot, but it’s my own fault.” Mac shrugged again.

Vanessa sighed, she wasn’t getting Mac to be honest about how he was really feeling, as if he thought his father would find out. She suddenly realised that maybe that’s exactly what was happening. “Mac, who do you think I work for?”

“My father of course,” Mac said, as if it was obvious.

“And Dr Fray, everyone else here?”

“At first I wasn’t sure, but now I’ve realised everyone must work for my father. He sent me here to heal up, he’s mentioned taking me to a doctor before. Once I’m better I’ll go back home. The other doctor told me himself that I’d be leaving soon.”

Vanessa closed her eyes; this was worse than she thought. They needed Mac to understand that he was wrong and that he was safe here. His father didn’t know a thing that was going on and he wasn’t ever going back to him. She had to tread carefully. She knew Mac wouldn’t believe her if she just blurted everything out.

“Ok Mac, I’m gonna leave for a bit, but we’ll talk more later.”

She got up and left the room, getting out her phone to call another meeting, asking the nurse to keep an eye on Mac while she was gone.

“He thinks what?” Jack said, after Vanessa had explained everything.

“I should have realised sooner,” Vanessa replied, kicking herself.

“So, he thinks I work for his father?” Jack asked, hoping that wasn’t the case.

“I’m not sure, possibly. He’s only just seemed to realise that you are actually who you say you are, before he probably thought you were someone who just looked like Jack but worked for his father.”

“What do we do?” Matty asked, hating the idea Mac still thought he was under his father’s thumb.

“We need to tell him of course, I’m worried he won’t believe us though,” Vanessa said, knowing her next words weren’t going to go down well. “I think we need to have his father tell him.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say you wanna put Mac in a room with his father?” Jack exclaimed; the doc was crazy.

“As crazy as it sounds, yes. Hearing directly from his father will have more of an effect, than if we tell him. I highly doubt he’ll believe us; he might go a long with it, but he’ll probably deep down still not trust any of us.”

“Won’t that just traumatize him more?” Dr Fray asked.

“I’m not going to lie, it might. I want to talk to his father myself before I decide.”

“I think this is a bad idea,” Matty said. “But you’re the expert, if you think it might work, we’ll try it.”

“Matty, no, there’s gotta be another way,” Jack cried, getting up and pacing.

“Trust me,” Vanessa said, but Jack wasn’t sure that he did.

So, they put the plan in motion, Vanessa would speak to James and if his personalities were stable get him onboard. Dr Fray was going to check Mac over, make sure he was physically ok for the meeting and Jack spent time with Mac, desperate for him to realise that he was wrong before they committed to a plan he hated.

That evening everything was set, Jack stayed, even though he wasn’t sure he could control himself around Mac’s father. Mac was sitting, reading the new books Jack had bought completely unaware that he was about to see his father. James had been told what to say, agreeing that he would let his son know that the people there weren’t working for him and that Mac wouldn’t be seeing him again. He wasn’t to say anything else.

The door opened and Mac looked up, Vanessa walked in followed by his father. He instantly shoved the books aside and got to his feet, looking down at the floor. It was obviously time to leave, he wished they had told him so he could prepare.

“Mac, your father has some things he needs to tell you,” Vanessa said, stepping to the side.

“Angus look at me,” James began, his voice harsh. “I’ve been made aware that you’ve had some ideas about what’s going on here, and I need to tell you that you’re wrong.”

Mac was confused, what was he wrong about. He stood straight and looked at his father, the confusion showing on his face.

“The people here do not work for me; they took you away from me and because of that you’re going to be staying here with them. Do you understand?”

“I understand sir,” Mac replied, thinking his father wanted him to stay with these people for some reason.

“You will not be seeing me again,” James said, that was supposed to be the end of his speech. “You will behave while you are here and remember everything I taught you, you will not be the disobedient, weak, ungrateful child that I know you are.”

“Get him out,” Jack cried, as the agents behind him were trying to pull him out of the room.

James was struggling, wanting to get his last words out. “I’ll come back for you Angus; you’ll never be free of me.”

Jack punched him hard in the face and then turned back to Mac, to find him tucked in the corner, shaking. He looked at Vanessa. “I hope you’re happy.”

Walking towards Mac, he sat next to him like he had done that morning. “It’s ok kiddo, it’s gonna be ok. He’s gone now, and he’s never coming back.”

Mac just stayed, shivering, tears running down his face, his father’s words staying in his head. He was so confused, he thought his father had come to get him, that they were going home. Then his father told him that he had to stay here and that he’d never see James again, his father obviously didn’t want him anymore, his words about what he thought of Mac proving it. Although he had said he’d be back. Did he want him or not?

Jack stayed sitting quietly, not wanting to do anything that would hurt Mac more, slowly the kid sat up a little and turned to Jack. His words breaking his heart.

“Why doesn’t anyone want me?”

“I want you kiddo, I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying right here until you realise it.”

Mac looked at him confused, he sounded like he meant it and he was sure now that this man was Jack, but he didn’t know if he should believe him. He turned leaning against the wall closing his eyes, asleep after a few minutes, hopefully when he woke up things would be better.

While Mac slept Jack paced, Vanessa had stayed, and he could feel her watching him.

“We shouldn’t have done that,” Jack said, turning to look at her.

“Perhaps not, at least now Mac has heard what’s happening direct from his father. I hope it means he’ll be more open to change.”

“I’m fairly sure the kid’s more confused now than he was before James came in, and now he thinks even his father doesn’t want him. You said yourself he felt safe and at home where he was, now that’s been pulled away.”

“It had to be, and it was always going to be hard. Now we need to help him move forward. Take one day at a time,” Vanessa said, getting up. “I’m going to go and find him some food; he hasn’t eaten since this morning and he shouldn’t miss any more meals.”

Jack nodded; she’d explained her assessment after her talk with Mac before they’d set the evening plan in motion. He was to make sure whenever he was with Mac that he gave him permission to eat, he hated the fact that was something he would have to do, hopefully it wouldn’t last long and Mac would eat when he wanted to rather when he was told to.

Mac woke up before Vanessa got back, quietly getting up and going to the bathroom, he went straight back to his corner. His ribs were painful again, but he guessed he wouldn’t be allowed any painkillers, he’d only had some that morning. He was going to say his father wouldn’t let him have too many, then realised his father wouldn’t know. What did that mean? He guessed he should act the way he did while he was at home, until he knew for sure what these new people wanted.

At the minute they were all being nice to him, letting him eat and sleep and giving him things without anything in return, apart from that man earlier, none of them had restrained him and he’d been given care for his injuries. He was sure though that soon that would all change, they would see as his father had that he didn’t deserve all those things and he was sure that things would go back to normal. He wondered if Jack would be the one to punish him when he was bad, he got angry easily like his father did, Mac knew it was only a matter of time before he took that anger out on him. He was sure Jack would beat him badly, flashes of Jack hurting people popping into his head.

Mac would just have to try hard to not anger him, he’d do what he could to make him happy and if he felt the need to hurt Mac then he would obviously deserve it. The door opened and Vanessa walked in, placing a tray in front of him.

“It’s time to eat Mac,” she said, stepping away.

He was hungry so he pulled the tray towards him, wincing when his ribs pulled, he stayed as straight and still as he could after that, he didn’t want to look weak and he was sure Jack had noticed that he was in pain.

Jack walked out after that, probably disgusted that Mac couldn’t even handle some broken ribs, Vanessa stayed, sitting back in the seat opposite him again.

“I’m sorry that your father isn’t coming back Mac, but it will give you time to heal and get better,” Vanessa said, not wanting to start anything too heavy until the morning. “We’ll speak more about what that means for you tomorrow.”

Mac looked up at her a scared look on his face, they already knew what they were going to do with him, he hoped it wouldn’t be too bad, maybe he could just stay here. He guessed it wouldn’t be practical though, it wasn’t very secure, and he didn’t think he’d be allowed to roam the corridors outside. He sighed, whatever happened he wouldn’t have any say in it, so there wasn’t any point thinking about it. He just quietly ate his dinner, curling up on the floor afterwards and falling back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus - Jack got to hit James


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to point out I'm not a medical professional, I have no idea if anything I've put would happen, I am only going by what I've researched (via google)

The morning came around quickly and Mac awoke alone for the first time, he quickly checked his wrists and ankles, sure they would be secured, no, he was still free to move around. That seemed strange if he wanted to maybe he could just leave. Although where would he go, he didn’t have anyone, and he was sure these people would find him and drag him back if he ran off. He went to relieve himself, shocked that there was blood in his urine, his kidney injury was obviously getting worse. He should probably tell someone; they’d be mad if they found he’d kept it to himself.

Dr Fray was waiting for him when he returned to the room and asked him to sit in the chair, so he could examine him. Mac did as he was told.

“Are you in pain this morning?” Dr Fray asked.

Jack had come to find him the night before to get some painkillers for Mac, when they’d returned to the room Mac was asleep, the doctor wasn’t happy giving any without the patient’s consent, so Mac went without.

“Some,” Mac replied. “There was blood in my urine just now.”

“Has that happened before?”

“I don’t think so.”

Dr Fray nodded, asking Mac to remove his hoody and lift his shirt. He then felt his ribs and palpated his abdomen. Mac winced a few times, but gasped and shrunk away when he touched a spot on his side.

“I have some painkillers here and I’d like to get some more scans.”

Mac nodded and then morphine was injected into the port in his hand, it felt so weird to Mac not to get the injection in his neck.

“Ok, I’ll arrange those tests, no food or drink until after, I don’t want to risk it.”

Mac nodded again, upset that he wasn’t getting fed, he was thirsty too, but he obviously wasn’t allowed any water. Perhaps they were annoyed that he wasn’t healing quick enough.

“You need to stay in this chair until I come back to get you, I shouldn’t be long,” Dr Fray said, he hated to make it sound like an order, but he didn’t want Mac to go back to the floor, it was obviously aggravating his injuries.

“Yes sir,” Mac replied, head down.

Dr Fray left quickly getting the tests ordered, he knew Jack had to be somewhere that morning so didn’t want to leave Mac alone for too long. Vanessa was going to come back when Jack did so they could talk to Mac about next steps. Soon Dr Fray was leading Mac to the room to get the x-rays, not sure if it would go better than last time.

“Like you were here before, you need to lie very still on the bed,” Dr Fray explained, feeling Mac tense. “Would you like me to give you a sedative?” Unfortunately, the tests were necessary and if Mac didn’t cooperate he would have to sedate him if he agreed or not.

“Yes please,” Mac replied, knowing the doctor would do it anyway.

Dr Fray nodded and injected the syringe he already had ready, letting Mac get drowsy before they helped him onto the bed. They took the x-rays first and then took a CT scan of Mac’s abdomen, Dr Fray stepping away to consult a colleague about the findings.

“Derek, keep an eye on Mac for me, he’s still drowsy so he should be fine, I don’t want him injuring himself more, call me if you have to.”

“Of course,” Derek said, watching the doctor leave. He got up and walked over to Mac, checking to see if he was still out of it.

Mac’s head was fuzzy, like it was when he had to listen to his tapes, he’d been subjected to a few tests and now everything was quiet. He felt someone approach, thinking it was time to go back to his room.

“You got my friend fired, that wasn’t very nice of you,” Derek said, looking down at the man on the bed. “Pity I can’t really punish you for it, it would only get me in trouble too.”

Mac wasn’t sure what this man was saying, he could make out some words, he thought he heard punish and wondered what he’d done. He felt something happening to his wrists, then the man spoke again.

“You tried to leave, and I didn’t want you to hurt yourself, so I had to put you in restraints. Doc will understand.”

Mac now knew what had happened to his wrists, they were attached to the bed frame, his ankles were pulled, and they were soon tied to.

“If you make any more trouble you’ll be seeing me again,” Derek threatened, walking back to his computer.

Mac just laid there excepting the punishment, it was strange being tied up on a bed, usually he was on the floor, it was more comfortable, he supposed if the doctor wanted him tied down, he wouldn’t mind having to sleep in a bed to do it.

Not long later and Dr Fray came back, he heard talking and a slightly raised voice, then he was being released. He was more alert now and he heard Derek speaking.

“I’m sorry doc, I thought you said you didn’t want him hurting himself, I figured using restraints was the best thing to do.”

“You should have called me Derek, this may not have been necessary,” the doctor replied. “Mac, it’s time to go back to your room, we need to have a chat when we get there.”

Once they were back, Mac was placed in the chair he was in when he had left, Dr Fray taking the fold up and placing it in front of him.

“I’m genuinely concerned about you Mac; your kidney injury is worse, and we need to do everything we can to make it better. Your ribs haven’t healed any either, I’m concerned any injury to them now could cause one to puncture your lung.”

Mac knew that didn’t sound good, a punctured lung would be bad, he wasn’t sure what else he could do to fix himself though.

“What I need for you to do is sleep on the bed, even if it’s just for a few days,” Dr Fray said, watching Mac shake his head. “Unfortunately, Mac this isn’t up for discussion. You will sleep in the bed, I don’t want to force you, but I will if I must. Sleeping on the floor is doing more damage.”

Mac froze at the doctor’s words, guessing he meant he would tie him to the bed like what had just been done. He knew that he should do as the doctor asked, but he was scared to, he hadn’t slept in a bed for so long, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stay still. The doctor was looking at him with a stern look, although Mac could tell there was kindness there too.

“I’m scared,” he admitted, sucking in a breath, wondering what the doctor would say.

“What are you scared of?”

“I haven’t slept in a bed since the last night before my father came, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay still enough.”

Dr Fray was glad that Mac had been honest with him, even though he looked upset about it.

“Preferably you would lie on your back and try not to move too much, I know that will be impossible, so we’ll compromise. You must sleep in the bed, and spend as much time as possible on there, otherwise you may sit in a recliner, I’ll bring one in from another room. You are to only get up to use the bathroom. Can you do that?”

“You…” Mac trailed off.

“Go on.”

“You can tie me down if you have to.”

Dr Fray sighed, he really didn’t want to do that, but knew that it was a possibility. “I don’t want to; you shouldn’t have to be restrained. If it’s the only way for you to be still I will have to, I’ll attach them to the bed and then if we need to we can put them on.”

Mac nodded, knowing they would need to, it was ok, he was used to it.

“Now I’m going to get you some late breakfast, can you stay in this chair please, until I come back.”

“Could I have a book?” Mac asked, he was feeling brave, he was sure he’d be told no.

“Of course,” Dr Fray said, handing him one and then leaving the room.

He arranged for a recliner to be taken to the room and found a nurse and asked her to take Mac some breakfast, making sure she knew to tell him to eat it. He needed to speak to Dr Barnes and Jack, let them know what was happening, he knew neither of them would be pleased at the thought of Mac being restrained, he wasn’t happy either.

Luckily, Jack was on his way to see Mac when Dr Fray called so he detoured to his office, he saw that Vanessa was there but no one else.

“Dr Fray asked me to meet him?” Jack asked, wondering if he got it wrong.

“He’ll be back in a minute, said he had to take care of something and to wait.”

Jack nodded and sat down, the doctor appearing five minutes later.

“We need to discuss Mac’s test results and what needs to happen,” Dr Fray said, sitting with his hands clasped in front of him.

“Is it bad doc?” Jack asked, worried.

“Depends on your definition, his ribs aren’t healing and I’m worried that any further injury and he’ll puncture a lung.”

“Jesus.”

“Indeed, also his kidney injury is worse, there’s blood in his urine and the scans show a fair amount of damage, he needs complete bed rest.”

“But he won’t sleep in the bed,” Vanessa pointed out, they hadn’t managed to get him to agree to that yet.

“I know this will sound harsh, but unfortunately it doesn’t matter what he wants, he will be sleeping in the bed.”

“You’re going to force him?” Vanessa asked, realising the doctor intended to use restraints.

“No. I’ve discussed it with Mac, and he understands that he needs to use the bed as much as possible, even though he admitted to me that he’s scared to.”

“He told you that?” Jack asked, surprised.

“Yes. He told me he was worried because he didn’t think he could keep still. He told me that I could tie him to the bed if I needed to.”

“And you said that ain’t gonna happen,” Jack said, not liking the look on the doctor’s face. “Right doc.”

Before Dr Fray could answer, Vanessa spoke. “You told him that you would only do it if it was necessary.”

He nodded. “I’ve moved a recliner into the room, he can use that during the day if he stays still enough, but I’ve attached soft restraints to the bed in case we need to use them while he sleeps.”

“I can’t believe this!” Jack cried, what was wrong with these doctors.

“Jack, I would not even consider this if I weren’t concerned. If he gets up in the night and sleeps on the floor, no one will know, and he’ll hurt himself even more. If this continues we’ll have to do surgery and then he’ll have no choice but to stay in the bed, possibly for days.”

Jack sighed, why couldn’t the kid catch a break.

“As much as I don’t like it, I understand that Mac’s physical health comes first. I’d like to talk to him before any restraints are used, he needs to know that he isn’t being punished for anything,” Vanessa said, seeing something on her colleagues face. “What?”

“Unfortunately, when I stepped away to talk to one of our surgeons, the tech put Mac in restraints, he told me when I returned that Mac was agitated, and he didn’t want him to hurt himself.”

“So, he expects you to do it, because it’s been done once already, I’ll still speak to him.”

They all headed back to the room, Mac lying on the recliner reading a book. Jack’s eyes were immediately drawn to the restraints hanging from the bed, he looked away quickly.

“Are you feeling ok Mac?” Dr Fray asked.

“Yes, thank you.”

“I’ll leave you guys to it then, let me know if he needs any pain medication.”

Jack nodded, sitting on the chair over in the corner of the room, not wanting to get in the way when Vanessa spoke.

“Mac, we need to talk about a few things. Now you know that I don’t work for you father I need to explain why I’m here.”

Mac put his book down and gave her his full attention, he was curious to know.

“I’m a psychologist and I help people who’ve been through trauma, people like you. Now I know that you think that everything that’s happened to you over the last month has been deserved, but I’m here to tell that it’s not true, nothing that your father did was your fault. I’m going to be spending time with you helping you to get through what’s happened and get you back to some form of normal.” Vanessa sat back, letting Mac take in the words.

Mac wasn’t sure what this doctor was saying to him, he knew what a psychologist was, but he hadn’t been through a trauma. She was wrong about him not getting what he deserved, didn’t she know some of the things he had done. His father had been kind to him, kept him safe, he’d only hurt him when he needed it. Sometimes pain is necessary.

“You’re wrong,” Mac said, needing her to know she was wasting her time. “My father did what he had to do to keep me safe, to do that he had to make sure I was obedient, make sure I wasn’t weak, pain is necessary it helps sometimes. What my father did was normal, wasn’t it?”

“No Mac, it wasn’t normal, most people don’t get hurt as badly as you were by their fathers,” Vanessa responded, not believing what had just come out of Mac’s mouth, pain was necessary, it helps, she couldn’t understand how anyone could think that. “Your father told you a lot of things that were wrong, it’s ok to still believe them. We’ll talk some more later about it. For now, you need to rest.”

Mac nodded, confused again, he wasn’t sure who to believe. He went back to his book, hoping that this doctor didn’t come back for a while, he needed to think.

Mac got his wish and Vanessa waited until after Mac had eaten dinner to return, she wanted to talk to him about the possibility of using the restraints that night, before he had to get ready for bed.

“I wanted to talk to you about what Dr Fray told you might happen tonight,” Vanessa started and watched Mac automatically look at the bed. “I need you to be honest with me and tell me why you think we need to put you in restraints.”

“Because I won’t be able to stay still and the doctor said I have to,” Mac replied.

“Is that all? Do you think you’re being punished somehow?”

“I don’t think so,” Mac said thinking about it. “It’s ok, I’m used to being tied up to sleep, I’m surprised you haven’t done it before.”

This is what Vanessa didn’t want to happen, for Mac to assume that this was a normal thing. “I need you to understand that the only reason this is happening is for medical reasons, nothing else, as soon as you’ve healed so Dr Fray is satisfied then they will be removed.”

Mac nodded.

“Ok, well why don’t you get ready for bed and then we’ll get you settled,” Vanessa said, moving out of the way so Mac could go to the bathroom.

“I’m not sure I can be here for this,” Jack said quietly. “Watch while you tie him to the bed, and he thinks it’s normal.”

“I’m not going to make you stay, but it might be good for you to, keep him company. If we tie him down and then leave then he will feel like it’s normal. I’m sure his father never hung around for a conversation.”

Jack sighed and nodded, she was right, he’d sleep in the recliner, that way if Mac needed him he’d be there.

Mac came out of the bathroom but stopped, not sure what he should do.

“I think to start with you can just lay on the bed, and we’ll cover you with a blanket,” Vanessa said, wanting to make it as painless as possible. “Can you get on the bed for me?”

Mac nodded and came over, shaking slightly, this was harder than he thought, he carefully got onto the bed and laid down on his back, tense.

“You need to try and relax Mac, you’ll only be more uncomfortable if you’re tense,” Vanessa soothed.

“I’ll be back in a minute Mac,” Jack said, going to find Dr Fray, Mac needed some painkillers.

Mac laid as still as possible, his breathing quick, he couldn’t do this, he needed to get up.

“You are doing great Mac.”

The door opened and Dr Fray came in, looking at his patient and not liking what he saw. “I’ve bought you some painkillers Mac, hopefully they’ll relax you a little as well.”

“Ok.”

Dr Fray dispensed the medicine and soon Mac’s body loosened, his breathing was still a little fast, his fingers twitching.

“Are you ok Mac?”

“Why haven’t you tied me down?”

“I wanted to wait until you fell asleep,” Vanessa said, she didn’t want them on longer than necessary.

“It’s ok Mac, we’ll put them on now,” Dr Fray said, seeing his patient was upset. He nodded to Vanessa and between them they put on the four-point restraints. Hoping they wouldn’t have to use them too often. “Someone will check on you through the night, we can take them off if necessary.”

“The morning’s fine,” Mac said, closing his eyes. He felt better now that they were on, he didn’t think he’d be able to fall asleep otherwise, he was too tense, ready to jump off the bed so he could sleep on the floor.

“We’ll let you sleep, goodnight,” Vanessa said, leaving the room with Dr Fray.

“I’m staying right here buddy, you just call out if you need anything,” Jack said, getting himself settled on the recliner.

“Why?” Mac asked, thinking that he’d be left alone now that he was secured.

“I don’t want you to be by yourself kiddo, you’ve been tied up and alone too many times. Not tonight.”

Mac smiled, glad that Jack had stayed, he closed his eyes again and was soon asleep, waking only once before morning, reassured that Jack was still there.


	29. Chapter 29

Jack woke before Mac did the next morning, using the bathroom and then coming to stand over the kid, he wanted so badly to rip the restraints off but knew he’d better wait. He sighed, sitting back on the recliner and getting out his phone, giving everyone an update. It was tough for the rest of the team not to be able to see Mac, but Jack’s regular texts seemed to help and Vanessa had said that in the next couple of days she wanted to bring them in one at a time and see how Mac responded.

There was movement to his left and Jack smiled when Mac opened his eyes, turning to look at him.

“Morning kid, did you sleep ok?” He imagined it wasn’t fun to sleep when you could hardly move, but the kid had looked peaceful.

“Fine thank you,” Mac replied, noticing he was still restrained. He needed to go to the bathroom, but he didn’t want to say anything, there had to be a reason Jack hadn’t released him yet.

“I’ll go find the doc ok, see if you’re allowed to get up,” Jack said, slipping out the door, feeling bad that he’d not let the kid up.

Dr Fray wasn’t in yet, so Jack decided to just undo the restraints and hope that the doc was happy with it, the kid had worn them all night, surely it was ok for him to get up now. He walked back into the room to see Mac squirming; he knew what that meant.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had to go kiddo? I would have undone these straightaway.”

“I’m sorry,” Mac said, stilling the minute Jack approached.

Jack took off the restraints and Mac headed for the bathroom, soon he was back, and he laid on the bed. “You can put them back on now.”

“I don’t think so buddy, if you wanna stay on the bed you can, if not you can sit on the recliner. They’ll be serving breakfast soon.” Jack couldn’t believe Mac had asked him to put his restraints back on, the sooner they didn’t have to use them the better.

Mac got off the bed slowly and sat on the recliner, hoping he hadn’t just made Jack mad. He ate breakfast quietly when it came and then started playing with his hoody when his hands were free. He looked up when the TV went on, guessing Jack wanted to watch something, he wouldn’t disturb him.

An hour later Dr Fray came in to ask how he was feeling, he did another quick exam and then told him that another day and night of rest and he hoped the injuries would be healing themselves nicely. Mac was told that Dr Barnes wouldn’t be seeing him until the following day, which relaxed him a little, leaving him to spend the whole day just him and Jack.

They didn’t talk much, but they watched a lot of TV and played a couple of games of Battleship that Jack had found in a cupboard. By the time it was night Mac was relaxed enough to get into bed and not be so tense. Dr Fray had come back at that point to see if he needed any medicine.

“No thank you,” Mac replied, he wasn’t in as much pain as he had been. He waited patiently while the doctor put the restraints on.

“I won’t be here until tomorrow early evening, so we’ll do the tests then before you go to bed. Dr Pann is on tomorrow so if you need anything then you’ll have to speak to him,” Dr Fray explained, walking towards the door.

Mac nodded, not sure if he wanted to see another doctor, he saw that Jack was sleeping in the recliner again and that made him happy, the day had been the best he’d had here, even having to sleep tied up wasn’t going to spoil anything.

At about 3am Mac woke up with cramp and a sudden need to urinate, he didn’t want to wake Jack but knew he’d wet himself if not. “Jack.”

Jack was awake straight away, his years in the army making him a light sleeper. “You ok buddy?”

“I need to pee.” Mac said.

Jack undid his restraints and Mac hurried to the bathroom, his leg almost giving way because of the cramp. When he returned he laid down ready, but Jack looked reluctant to tie him down again. “You have to.” Mac said, closing his eyes.

Jack couldn’t believe Mac was reassuring him about something like that, it wasn’t right, but he knew unless he wanted to stay up all night to watch Mac, the restraints would have to go back on. He fastened them and got back onto the recliner. The doc seemed to think they wouldn’t have to use them again the next night, he was also confident that Mac would stay on the bed without them.

“I’m gonna be a few hours ok, if you need anything then just press the call button,” Jack said the following morning.

Breakfast was over and Mac had decided to stay on the bed, seeming comfortable. Jack was going home to shower and do some laundry, he’d persuaded Mac to let him take the hoody, promising he could have it back later. It just meant that Jack would have to make sure it went in the dryer, that meant he would be gone longer than he’d hoped. Vanessa was coming in after lunch to talk to Mac about the team visiting and then Dr Fray was going to run tests that evening to see how Mac was healing after he’d been resting so well. It meant he was going to be alone at least until lunchtime.

“I’ll be ok,” Mac said, still hesitant to speak unless he’d been asked a question.

Jack nodded and left, letting one of the nurses know. An hour later and Mac was dozing, he wasn’t feeling too bad being on the bed now, no one seemed to mind him sleeping there, they seemed to prefer it. It still confused him how different his father treated him to everyone else, surely there wasn’t any truth to what Vanessa had said about him, that he hurt him when he shouldn’t have.

Mac woke with a start feeling someone over him, opening his eyes he realised he recognised him, it was Derek the man who was there when he had his scans, why was he in his room.

The man laughed. “Couldn’t resist.” He then walked out of the door, making sure it was shut all the way.

Mac was confused, what did he mean, he then looked and understood, his restraints had been put back on and they were tight. He pulled but that only seemed to make it worse, he didn’t know what to do. A small part of him wondered whether he had done something to deserve this, why else would someone from medical tie him down. He wracked his brain thinking, he didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. He’d soon know when Jack or one of his doctors came in, if they saw him and didn’t say anything about the restraints then he’d know that he deserved to have them on.

Mac lay there, not being able to do anything, he was sure it was hours later, and he was desperate for the toilet, he wanted to call out, but he might get in trouble for it. Soon he knew he couldn’t hold it and he wet himself, he knew when Jack came back he would be disgusted with him. He started crying, his day was so good yesterday, why did it never last.

While Mac was miserable Jack was just coming back into The Phoenix, bumping into Vanessa as he got off the elevator.

“Hey, you going to see Mac?” Jack asked, walking beside her.

“Yes, I thought we could have some lunch and then we could talk about Riley and Bozer coming to see him. I’ve spoken to them both, made sure they’re aware of the situation, they seem to understand what they can and can’t say. I think they’re just eager to see him,” Vanessa said, opening the door to the medical wing.

“Oh, they are believe me, they both text me non-stop for updates. I just hope Mac will be ok having them around.”

They reached the door, surprised to see it closed, they’d been trying to leave it open at least a bit so that Mac didn’t feel so closed in. Jack shrugged, maybe Mac had closed it.

“Hey Mac, we’re back…” Jack stopped frozen at the sight before him.

“Oh my god, what happened?” Vanessa exclaimed, rushing past Jack to pull the restraints off a shivering Mac. “Jack help me.”

Jack snapped himself out of it and helped Vanessa, who’d ever put on the restraints had put them on tight and Jack was glad Mac was still wearing his cuffs, (he never thought he’d say that,) otherwise his skin would probably be red raw.

Mac was muttering now. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok kiddo, it’s not your fault. Who did this?” Jack asked, knowing that Mac was apologising for wetting himself.

As soon as he was released Mac curled up shaking. Jack couldn’t take seeing him like that, he crouched down so his face was inches from Mac’s running his hand through his hair. “Shh kiddo, it’s ok. You’re ok, I’m here now.”

“I’m going to go and speak to whoever’s in charge, this is not acceptable. When he’s calmed down get him in the shower, I’ll bring some clean sheets back with me,” Vanessa said, anger pouring off of her, she took out her phone to call Dr Fray, she knew he’d want to know straight away.

“You wanna clean up and get into some dry clothes?” Jack asked, still running his hand through Mac’s hair. “I brought back your hoody; you can put that on too.”

Mac opened his eyes, looking at Jack, nodding his head, he didn’t know why Jack wasn’t disgusted by him. “I’m disgusting.”

“You are not disgusting; you had an accident and that wasn’t your fault. Oh kiddo, did this happen before and that’s what your father told you?”

Mac closed his eyes nodding again, more tears leaking out. “He said I was disgusting, and he hit me, then I had to clean it up.”

Jack kept his anger inside, knowing that if it showed on his face that Mac would think it was directed at him. “That was wrong Mac, he shouldn’t have said that, and he definitely shouldn’t have hit you. Now come on, let’s get you out of these wet clothes.”

Jack helped Mac to the shower and then left him to clean up, stripping the bed so that it was ready for the fresh sheets.

“Apparently no one thought to check on him thinking that you were in here, no one has any idea who could have put on the restraints. The nurse in charge asked me if maybe his doctor had ordered it for some reason, which I told her wasn’t the case as he’s furious,” Vanessa explained as she started making the bed. “How is he?”

“He told me he was disgusting. I asked him if this had happened before and he said his father had told him he was disgusting, hit him and then made him clean up,” Jack replied, sitting down and putting his face into his hands.

“At least he opened up, before he would have just apologised and then expected some sort of punishment. It’s a start.”

Jack nodded. “I hope he wasn’t like that for long, lying in his own urine, not able to move. It makes me sick, who could have done it, and why?”

“I’ve no idea, Dr Fray is coming in, he’s going to hold a meeting with all The Phoenix medical staff, he won’t rest until he’s got to the bottom of this. He said to tell Mac he’ll hold off on the tests until the morning, he doesn’t want to put him through it tonight.”

The door to the bathroom opened and Mac came out, standing in the doorway looking lost.

“Hey buddy, why don’t you come get comfy on the recliner and we’ll have some lunch,” Jack said, watching Mac playing with his hoody.

“I’m not hungry,” Mac said, walking over and doing what Jack said. “I’m sorry.”

“Kiddo, you need to stop apologizing. If something isn’t you fault then you don’t need to say sorry.”

“How do I know if it’s my fault?” Mac asked, the question genuine.

“That’s a tough one buddy, I’m not sure how to answer that. Usually if someone is mad at you then it’s best to say you’re sorry, am I mad at you?”

Mac shook his head.

“Then you don’t have to say sorry,” Jack smiled, glad he’d managed to put the kids mind at ease. “Mac, I do have to ask you about what happened.”

Mac looked up, checking to see if Jack was mad now or not.

“Do you know who did that to you?”

Mac didn’t know what to do, the man had told him not to cause any trouble or he’d come back, he reminded him of his father, Mac’s breathing started speeding up, his heart racing.

“Hey hey kiddo, breath, it’s ok. In and out, in and out, that’s it. You need to calm down buddy, no one can hurt you while I’m here.”

“Mac, was it someone you’ve met before?” Vanessa asked. “You don’t have to worry; you won’t get in trouble.”

Mac nodded, speaking so quietly that they had to listen closely. “His name’s Derek, he was there when I had my tests.”

“He was the one who put you in restraints after your tests?” Vanessa asked, getting up.

Once again Mac nodded, a few tears falling down his cheeks. “He said.. I.. got his… friend fired,” he stuttered out through his tears.

Vanessa and Jack looked at each other, knowing exactly what man that was. “I’ll be back,” Vanessa said, needing to fill in Dr Fray, wanting to find this Derek guy and tie him up and see how he liked it.

Jack got up and perched on the arm of the recliner, wiping Mac’s tears away, running his hand through his hair again, it seemed to sooth him before.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Mac asked, his father would never do this.

“Mac, this is what fathers are supposed to do when their kid is upset. I’m sorry that yours just hurt you more.”

Mac leaned into the touch, needing it. It had been so long since he’d felt any comfort, so long since someone touching him didn’t end in pain. He soon fell asleep, safe, knowing that Jack was there.

Mac opened his eyes and looked around and realised he was alone, had he imagined Jack being there, he wasn’t sure, he had been emotional, maybe it was like when he’d imagined Jack while his father was beating him. He sighed, he always seemed to be alone, maybe Jack had finally decided he’d had enough, he was nothing but trouble after all.

“Hey kiddo, I thought you’d be hungry when you woke up, so I went to get you something to eat,” Jack said, walking through the door, tray in hand.

“You didn’t leave?” Mac asked, sounding surprised.

“Now why would I do that?”

“Because all I do is cause trouble, why would you want to stay,” Mac replied, looking down, playing with his hoody again, a clear sign he was upset.

Jack put down the tray and crouched down by the recliner, gently raising Mac’s chin. “Because I love you Mac and people who love each other don’t leave because things get bad. And I promise you that you are not causing trouble.”

“You love me?” Mac’s eyes were wide, unbelieving.

“I do.” Jack smiled. “Now how about some lunch.”

Mac nodded, biting his lip, he still couldn’t understand why Jack wanted to stay, no matter what he said. He promised himself that he would try to do better, so he wasn’t as much trouble as he knew he was.

After lunch and another game of Battleship, Jack took out his phone frowning. “Hey bud, will you be ok for a little while by yourself? I need to go speak to Vanessa and Dr Fray.”

Mac nodded, he hadn’t said more than a few words since Jack came back from his lunch and Jack was worried, they had to get him talking again. Hopefully when Riley and Bozer came to visit he would have a chance.

As Jack walked out the door, Mac started to worry what they were meeting about, all kinds of things ran through his head, and he spent the next hour biting his lip so much that it bled.

Jack hoped the meeting was about this Derek guy, he just couldn’t believe there were two bad apples at The Phoenix, and both seemed to have it out for Mac.

“Glad you could join us Jack,” Dr Fray said when he sat down. “How’s Mac?”

“Quiet, even more than usual if that’s possible.”

“It’s just added to his trauma,” Vanessa replied, hating that her patient was having such a terrible time. “I thought he would safer here than a normal hospital, but I’m starting to have my doubts.”

“Well hopefully things should get better, we’ve established that Frank and Derek are new joins and they were brought in without any of the normal checks, apparently their fathers friend is our head of hiring and he owed him a favour.”

“You’re kidding?” Jack asked, shocked that it could have happened.

“I wish I were,” Dr Fray replied. “The matter has been handled, all three have been fired and Matilda is making sure that they each get a criminal record as well.”

“Couldn’t have happened to nicer people!” Jack added sarcastically. “What now?”

“We stick to the plan. If Mac’s up to it I’ll run those tests now, if not they can wait until the morning. Vanessa?”

“All go from me, Riley and Bozer are coming over tomorrow after lunch, I’ll make sure Mac’s prepared in the morning.”

“Good, he needs something good to happen,” Jack said, filling them in on what Mac had told him earlier.

“Cause trouble? He’s been nothing but the model patient,” Dr Fray responded. “He really needs to get some confidence back.”

Mac had agreed to the tests, wanting to get them out of the way. No one had mentioned his bleeding lip, Dr Fray had just told him they’d put some ice on it later and they all seemed happy, so Mac had assumed he’d worried for nothing.

He’d been sedated again for the scans, the doctor not wanting to put Mac under any unnecessary stress , he was too out of it to walk back so the whole bed was wheeled into his room and he was transferred onto his bed.

“It’s still not as healed as I’d like, but it’s much better,” Dr Fray asked, after they’d got Mac settled.

“Great, so we can lose the restraints then,” Jack said, smiling.

“I’m afraid not just yet. I’m not going to have him wear them, if he stays in the bed and doesn’t sleep on the floor for a couple more nights then I’ve no issue with his sleeping unaided. If we find he’s left the bed then I’ll have to use them. He’s healing, a hard floor is only going to make things worse.”

Jack sighed, shaking his head, he understood where they doc was coming from, didn’t mean he had to like it. Looking down at his sleeping kid, he just hoped he’d be able to stay in the bed on his own.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long one, but I didn't want to break it up.

Mac had managed the whole night in the bed, not even attempting to leave to sleep on the floor, it broke Jack’s heart when it was time to sleep and Mac’s small voice had asked if he had to be tied down again. The damn things had now been removed from the bed, stored in the cupboard just in case they were needed for future use.

“We need to talk about some visitors,” Vanessa said, just before lunch, hoping that Mac was going to be happy to get some.

“Visitors?” Mac asked, who would want to come and see him.

“Yes, your friends Riley and Bozer, they’ll be popping in after lunch.”

“Why?”

“To see you of course,” Jack said, hoping this wouldn’t be Mac’s reaction when they arrived. “They’ve missed you bud.”

Mac started to panic, what would they expect from him, he couldn’t be the Mac they were friends with, he didn’t even know if he could talk to them let alone make conversation. What if they decided that he’d come back wrong, that he wasn’t worth their time?

“Mac, breath, it’s ok, no one is forcing you to do this,” Vanessa said, seeing that her patient was getting agitated. “I do think it would be good for you though, you need to start getting back to normal and seeing your friends is normal.”

“But I’m not normal,” Mac replied, knowing that it was true.

“That doesn’t matter,” Vanessa decided not to tell Mac that wasn’t true. “All they want to do is see you, you don’t even have to speak if you don’t want.”

Mac thought about it for a while and then nodded, maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.

If he could have Mac would have paced, it was getting closer to the time his visitors were coming and the closer it got the more stressed out he felt. He was chewing his lip once more, tasting the blood but not being able to stop.

“Mac, please stop biting your lip, you’re hurting yourself,” Jack said, going to grab something to press on the cut.

Mac immediately stopped, Jack’s voice was harsh, and he didn’t want to upset him, especially before his visitors came. He didn’t mean to bite on his lip so much, it was becoming a habit, just like playing with his hoody.

“Here, hold that against it, you don’t want Ri or Boze to be worrying,” Jack said, handing Mac a damp flannel he’d found in the bathroom.

“I’m sorry,” Mac said. Jack sighed, that was obviously the wrong thing to say.

“I thought we talked about you apologising all the time.”

Mac looked up, opening his mouth, he then closed it again looking down at his lap, now he was making Jack mad, he couldn’t do anything right.

Jack sighed again, sitting back down, he decided not to get into it with Mac, they’d have a talk later. He prayed that he lightened up a little when the others got there. Riley and Bozer were so excited to see him, it wouldn’t be fair to them if Mac didn’t make an effort.

The door opened five minutes later, and Vanessa walked in, she wanted to make sure Mac was ready before they did this, she certainly didn’t want to traumatise her patient any more than he already was. She looked over at Jack, silently asking if Mac was ok, if she was right he was upset about something. Jack whispered that it was fine, and she hoped his judgment was ok, she didn’t want to regret doing this.

“Ok Mac, it’s time.”

Mac looked up, such a vulnerable look in his eyes that she just wanted to give him a big hug, she really hoped that the others could stop themselves from doing what she just thought about, they knew for this first visit they weren’t to approach Mac unless he asked them to, but she knew these things could be forgotten fast.

Riley and Bozer were outside, ready to see their friend, knowing that it wasn’t going to be the happy reunion that they’d envisioned, but eager none the less. They’d had their talk with Vanessa and were both happy to let Mac lead the afternoon. If he wanted to talk to them, engage with them then that’s what they’d do. To be honest they’d happily sit in silence if only they could see him with their own eyes.

Riley went in first, trying to hide her shock at how vulnerable Mac looked, he looked like a little kid in his father’s hoody, scared to meet people he didn’t know. She smiled, hoping that it looked inviting and not off putting. He smiled tentatively back, ducking his head as if he were embarrassed. Bozer came in once Riley had sat down, feeling the same as her, apprehensive and slightly scared, he’d known Mac the longest and it would kill him if Mac didn’t at least acknowledge that.

Mac looked up again, seeing his old friend, he was happy that Wilt had come to see him, what would he think though, he’d always been there for Mac through everything, but it was different now, he was different. So much had changed in the last month, he knew that he had gone from an outgoing happy person to someone who was scared to talk or really do anything without permission. Could Bozer except that.

“Hey Mac,” Bozer said, not liking the way his friend’s brow was furrowed. Even though Jack was the one Mac usually turned to now when he needed someone, because of all they’d been through together, Boze could still read his friend like a book and he didn’t like what was going on in Mac’s head. “It’s ok, it doesn’t matter, you’ll always be just Mac to me.”

It seemed that was all it took, and Mac started crying, looking at his best friend for a minute and then turning away. Bozer wasn’t having that, he knew they weren’t supposed to approach but he knew what his friend needed. He tentatively pulled his Mac into a hug, ignoring the others and what they were saying. Mac was stiff for a second and then he grabbed on like Bozer would disappear if he didn’t, sobbing into his chest.

Riley had tears in her eyes and she had to stop herself from going over and joining them, trust Bozer to get a reaction out of Mac, she assumed it was going to be a smile but she guessed any emotion was better than nothing.

As Mac started pulling away, Bozer let go, leaning up against the bed and acting like it hadn’t even happened. Mac on the other hand couldn’t stop himself from apologising, flinching when Jack swore.

“No worries Mac, we all have to cry sometime,” Bozer said, ignoring Jack, who was leaving with Vanessa. “You remember that time when Mrs Golding told us that story about the rabbit?”

Mac smiled, nodding, he remembered.

“What’s this?” Riley asked, thinking it was the perfect thing to get Mac’s mind off what was going on. She wasn’t stupid, she noticed how he kept looking at the door.

“What was that?” Vanessa asked, as they got outside. She’d motioned to Jack that she wanted to speak to him, and they’d headed to the corridor.

“He keeps apologising doc, and he shouldn’t be!” Jack exclaimed, frustrated that she didn’t see the problem.

“And that’s your decision to make is it?”

“It’s not a decision, it’s a fact. Who apologises because they’ve been crying?”

“Someone whose father beat it into him that it made him weak.”

That made Jack stop, closing his eyes. “I’m just getting frustrated.”

“I can see that. It’s fine to get that way occasionally, we’re all human. What isn’t ok is to take it out on Mac,” Vanessa replied. She knew that Jack cared, a lot, but she wouldn’t have her patient suffer.

“What?” Jack asked, what was she saying.

“I know you’re trying to help, but you’re not. I’m sorry if that’s blunt, but did you see the way he flinched when you swore, he thought you were angry at him. And if I had to guess something similar happened before we came in?”

“He was biting his lip again, making it bleed, I asked him to stop, I said something stupid and he apologised. I might have said something about us talking about him apologising all the time, thinking back my voice was probably a bit harsh.” Jack ran his hand down his face. “Damn, what have I done.”

“It was bound to happen at some point, I just hoped it would be further down the line, so maybe he wouldn’t take it quite to heart,” Vanessa responded, she sighed. “I think the best thing for you to do is to go back in there and stay quiet, once Riley and Bozer have gone the three of us will talk. I then think you need to go home and come back in the morning.”

“I know Mac’s liked having me sleep here,” Jack said. “But if you think it’s the best thing to do.”

“I do.”

They talked for a few more minutes and then re-joined the others, walking in to laughing. Jack looked over to Mac hopeful, he was smiling, but there was no laughter yet, he supposed it was early days.

Riley and Bozer stayed for another hour but they could tell Mac was getting agitated, so they said their goodbyes. Once they were gone Jack moved a little closer, Mac looked apprehensive.

“Mac, I wannna apologise, I was harsh with you earlier and that wasn’t fair.”

Mac looked confused so Vanessa stepped in. “Sometimes people can take their feelings out on others, even if they don’t mean to. Jack’s been feeling a little stressed and unfortunately he said some things he shouldn’t have.”

“I’m sorry,” Mac said, knowing that he was cause of his stress.

“It’s ok kiddo, I need to sort my head out, so I’m gonna go home tonight and come back in the morning.”

“You’re leaving?” Mac asked, he was doing it again, causing trouble.

“Only for the night, we’ll try and do something fun tomorrow. What do ya say?”

“Ok.”

Jack sighed, knowing that Mac wasn’t ok with things, but knowing that he needed a break to sort himself out. He got up, hoping that he was doing the right thing. “I’ll see ya tomorrow kid.”

Mac just nodded, watching Jack leave. He looked up when Vanessa spoke. “Will you be ok by yourself Mac? I really need to go, it’s getting late.”

“It’s fine.”

Vanessa said goodbye, wishing she didn’t have to leave but needing to be somewhere, she spoke to the nurse before she left asking her to keep an eye on Mac, and to also to make sure he ate dinner. Then she left.

Mac sat alone in his room, it felt so empty after so many people being in it not so long ago, he didn’t know what to do. He did what he always did when he was feeling so bad, he gravitated to his corner, wedging himself as far as he could into it, knees pulled up to his chest, head down. He wouldn’t cry, he just sat there quietly.

When the nurse came in with his dinner she told him he had to eat it, but he had to sit on the chair or bed to do it, he ignored her. He wasn’t hungry, after she’d left he used the bathroom, had a drink and then placed himself back down. A few hours later and she came back with the doctor.

“You need to get into bed Mac,” the doctor said, Mac didn’t know his name, just like before he ignored him, thinking he’d go away. “I don’t want to force you, but you need to sleep in the bed, you’re still healing.”

Mac knew this, but he’d been staying flat and not doing too much for a while now, he didn’t think one night on the floor would hurt. He felt someone grab his arm and he flashed back to his father, that was were he usually touched him, so he lashed out, kicking and trying to get away. He felt himself float a few minutes later and realised they’d drugged him, he then felt himself being lifted.

“Get out the restraints,” the doctor said.

“But he’s sedated doctor, does he need them?” The nurse asked.

“Dr Fray put in his notes that he could be restrained if necessary, he was just combative and uncooperative. Get them.”

Mac felt himself be tied down and he soon fell asleep. Next time Mac woke up it was still dark, but the nurse was back. “Do you need anything?” She asked.

“Toilet,” Mac said, knowing he couldn’t wait until morning.

“Just a minute.”

Mac felt her come back and then his trousers pulled, she held a bottle, he went red.

“It’s perfectly fine Mac, I’m not allowed to let you up until morning, this will have to do. Just relax.”

And he did, soon his bladder was empty, and his clothes rearranged, she said goodnight and left. Mac cried, this must be what his life would always be like, being restrained, drugged and having to have someone help him with the basic things. He had escaped one hell for another.

Jack walked into Phoenix medical with a smile on his face, he had the best night sleep and he was feeling refreshed, his mind in a better place. He’d stopped at the bakery and got Mac’s favourite a poppy seed bagel, he just hoped Mac’s night had been just as good.

As he walked in the door, Jack saw that Mac was curled up on his side, his breakfast untouched, maybe he was still asleep. Jack quietly crept around and crouched down so he was eye level, seeing that Mac was awake, what he didn’t like was the look in his eyes.

“You not hungry buddy?” Jack asked, pointing to the tray.

Mac followed his finger and then said something Jack didn’t expect. “Don’t deserve it.”

“Why would you say that kiddo?” Jack said, sitting on the side of the bed.

“I was bad last night.”

Jack’s heart was racing, what had happened after he’d left? No one had called him. “What did you do?”

“I slept on the floor.”

“That’s ok, you’re in bed now, you must have changed your mind.”

Mac shook his head.

Jack didn’t like the sound of that, checking the bed for those pesky restraints and not finding them. “Tell me what happened.”

“I wouldn’t get in bed and then I got angry, I think I hit someone.”

Jack sucked in a breath, oh no he didn’t like where this was going.”

“Everything went fuzzy and I ended up on the bed. Then they tied me down, so I’d stay.”

Jack closed his eyes, he shouldn’t have left, what the hell were the matter with these doctors. “I’m sorry that happened kiddo. They shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s ok, just my life now,” Mac said, his eyes filling with tears.

“Don’t you dare say that. Kiddo this is not your life, I’m so sorry this keeps happening to you and I’m gonna make sure that it never does again. Even if I have to spring you from here and take you back to my place.”

“I’ll only be a burden; you should leave me here and not come back.”

“Ok, this is stopping right now Mac, I mean it. I’m sorry if this is going to sound harsh but you need to listen to me. You are not and have never been a burden, I would die for you so there’s no way I’m leaving you. I know you’re hurtin, and I know that it’s gonna take you a while for that big ole brain of yours to get back to any sense of normal, but that’s ok. I’m gonna be here every step, and so is everyone else. Now am I getting a hug or is only Bozer allowed.”

Mac looked up at Jack, he couldn’t believe he’d just said all that stuff about him, it was a little bit like with Bozer, the flood gates opened, and he started sobbing, clinging to Jack like a life preserver. Jack rearranged them on the bed, so Mac was lying against him, he hugged him tight, running his hand through his hair, whispering assurances and telling him he wasn’t going anywhere.

This was how Vanessa found them and she hurried over, not knowing what had happened, she was happy that Mac was letting Jack so close, but she was horrified at how upset he was.

“Go find his doctor from last night, get him to explain,” Jack whispered. Mac hearing and tensing when he heard the word doctor. “It’s ok Mac, no one’s coming in here without my say so, you’re ok.”

Vanessa left the room, hurrying to find someone who could shed some light. She spotted the nurse she’d asked to keep an eye on Mac and asked her to explain, she followed her to a lounge, and they sat down.

“Is Mac ok?” Tally asked, she had always liked him and hated to see the way he was the night before.

“No, he’s currently crying his heart out. What the hell happened after I left?” Vanessa exclaimed, she wasn’t trying to blame this nurse, but she was angry, once again.

“I went in with his dinner and he was curled up in the corner, looked like he was in a daze, I told him he needed to eat but he had to sit over where I was first. He ignored me so I left, thinking he’d eat when he was ready, I went back, and the food was untouched, and he hadn’t moved. I was worried so I went and got Doctor Pann. The doctor told Mac that he needed to sleep in the bed and asked him to get up, Mac ignored him too. Doctor Pann was told that Mac needed to be sleeping straight and somewhere soft because he was still healing, so he tried to guide him there himself,” Tally paused and Vanessa kept quiet, wanting to hear the whole thing first. “Mac started lashing out and screaming, Doctor Pann sedated him and we got him into bed, then he asked me to get the restraints. I said that Mac was sedated and that surely he would be ok, but the doctor insisted. Told me I wasn’t to remove them until he did rounds, but to keep an eye on him.”

Vanessa couldn’t believe it, she knew that the doctor was right to sedate Mac, he had become violent and he couldn’t risk him hurting himself or others, but to restrain him. She sensed there was something Tally wasn’t saying. “What else?”

“I went to check on him about 2am and he was awake, he asked to go to the toilet. I was specifically told not to undo the restraints so I had him go in a urine bottle, he looked ashamed, I tried to reassure him but there wasn’t a lot I could do. He was awake when we went in before breakfast was served. Doctor Pann did an exam, to check nothing was damaged from his outburst, he then told Mac that he was to remain in bed and that if he couldn’t, he wouldn’t hesitate to tie him down again.”

“I wish to speak to Doctor Pann.”

“He’s gone home, Dr Fray is back, he asked if Mac had been seen this morning I told him yes. I didn’t tell him about last night, I knew he wouldn’t be happy.”

Vanessa was sure of it, she was going to make sure that this never happened again, thinking that she might need to move Mac to somewhere more relaxed. If his injuries were healed enough then she didn’t see the harm. She’d check back in with Mac, she noticed he hadn’t eaten breakfast and now she knew he hadn’t had any dinner, she had to make sure he ate something. Then she’d have a meeting with Dr Fray, something needed to be done.

“Jack, has he eaten yet?” Vanessa asked quietly when she came back. They were still in the same position and it looked like Mac had fallen asleep.

“No, but I didn’t think it mattered, it’s only one meal.”

“He didn’t eat dinner last night,” Vanessa replied, seeing what was on the tray.

Jack sighed, waking Mac gently. “Hey kiddo, I’m sorry to wake you up, but I need you to eat something.”

“I’m not hungry,” Mac replied, getting comfy again.

“Hey there, I think that might be a porky pie, I know you haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday and you picked at that cos you were nervous. You have to eat Mac; you are skin and bones as it is.”

Mac sat up slightly, turning his nose up at what was on the tray.

“Don’t worry, I got ya covered,” Jack said, handing Mac the paper bag. Pleased when his eyes lit up and he dove in.

Vanessa smiled, talking the breakfast tray with her minus the orange juice and the fruit cup, Mac could have those, and she would make sure he had a big lunch. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“We’re good here,” Jack said, and she knew that was the case.

Now he just had to talk to Dr Fray and Matilda Webber and get her plan in place, she was getting Mac out of there by tomorrow, if it killed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be finished tormenting Mac now. Recovery can begin.


	31. Chapter 31

Vanessa found Dr Fray and filled him in on what had occurred the night before, he was unhappy but he said that he had to defend his colleague, unfortunately he hadn’t updated Mac’s notes so Doctor Pann was within his rights to restrain Mac, as horrible as it sounded.

“I want to move Mac tomorrow, I feel him being here is affecting his recovery mentally, but of course that will only happen if you think he’s healed enough,” Vanessa said, not at all happy to hear the doctor backing his colleague up.

“I don’t think that should be a problem, I’ll have to get in another set of scans,” Dr Fray replied. “I would also like to remove those cuffs; he shouldn’t leave with them still on. I’ve still no idea what the skin underneath is going to be like.”

Damn she’d forgot about those. “I’ll speak to Mac this afternoon; we’ll make sure he’s comfortable removing them and if he is can you do it straight away?”

Dr Fray nodded, saying that he’d arrange for the scans to be done after lunch, they would then remove the cuffs before Mac went to bed. If there were no major problems, Mac could leave by tomorrow evening at the latest.

Vanessa left, happy that Dr Fray was on board, she now just needed to talk to the Director, she wanted her help. She wasn’t comfortable letting Mac go home just yet, he needed somewhere neutral to recover and she was hoping that Matilda Webber might have something suitable.

“Hello Director Webber thank you for seeing me,” Vanessa said, walking into her office.

“Of course, how’s Mac?” Matty asked, as Vanessa settled into her chair.

“Not too good I’m afraid,” Vanessa wasn’t sure how much to give away, she knew that the whole team was like family, and Jack was giving everyone regular updates, so she decided to be honest. “Mac had a bad night; he became violent and had to be sedated and restrained.”

Matty sat back shocked, she knew that Riley and Bozer had been to see Mac the day before and said that he seemed to be doing ok, she wondered what had happened. “I see. Where was Jack?”

“I sent him home,” Vanessa replied, now wishing that she hadn’t, but knowing that it was the right thing to do. “Jack needed a break; he was starting to get frustrated with Mac and I knew that wouldn’t end well, we explained everything to Mac. Unfortunately, I realise now that Mac wasn’t as ok about it as he said.”

Matty nodded, knowing that Mac was good at telling people one thing when he meant another. She would have to speak to Jack later, she’d wished he’d kept her in the loop, she could have sent someone to sit with Mac.

“I’m guessing you came here for a reason?”

“Yes, I need to get Mac out of medical and back to some sort of normality. I don’t think he’s ready to go home though, too many expectations. I wondered if there was anything you could do to help?”

“Consider it done, I’ll have one of our safe houses organised, we don’t have too many here in America, but none of them are in use now. Do you have any requirements?” Matty asked, knowing that she’d do whatever she could to help Mac get better.

“It needs to have at least two bedrooms, and no basement. Apart from that, somewhere quiet,” Vanessa answered, glad that Matty was on board.

“When would you like to do this by?”

“Ideally tomorrow afternoon, the morning after at the latest.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I can get Bozer to bring a few of Mac’s things?”

“That would be a good idea, nothing too overboard, some clothes, books, maybe a few of his belongings he’s particularly attached too,” Vanessa said, she didn’t want to overwhelm Mac, but it would be good for him to have some of his things before he had to go back to his own house permanently.

Glad that she’s got everything sorted she went back to Mac’s room, wanting to see if he was any better than when she’d left. He was in the shower when she returned, Jack sitting on the bed.

“He’s feeling better?” she asked.

“A little, we had a good talk, well I did anyway, he listened,” Jack smiled. “He ate all the food I gave him and then dozed off again. I persuaded him to have a shower, told him he would feel better, even told him to take as long as he needs. He’s been five minutes and the showers still on, that’s a good sign.”

Vanessa smiled; she was glad that she was putting her plan in motion. “Before he comes out I wanted to tell you that all being well we’re going to move Mac tomorrow. Matty is sorting out a safe house for him to stay in for a little while.”

“A safe house?” Jack asked, sounding worried.

“Not for that reason, I just don’t think he’s ready to go back to his house right now, and even your place is probably too raw for him. Somewhere neutral for a while and he can start getting back to normality.”

Jack nodded; he liked the idea. “I’ll be staying with him.”

“I thought you might,” Vanessa smiled, the shower shut off. “Don’t mention it to him, I don’t want to get his hopes up and it falls through.”

“My lips are sealed.”

Mac came out a minute later, looking more refreshed, although there was still a look in his eyes that Vanessa didn’t like. “Do you want to talk Mac?” she asked.

Mac came over to stand next to where Jack was sitting, leaning against him. “About what?”

“About what happened last night? You don’t have to, but I’d like to know what you were feeling that made you want to sit in the corner, you haven’t done that since you arrived.”

“I felt alone, I knew it was my fault Jack had left and I worried he wasn’t coming back,” Mac paused, not knowing if he should continue.

“Go on buddy, we need to know.”

“Whenever father punished me, he’d always secure me in the same corner, it was where I’d started to feel safe, I knew if he put me there then the punishment was usually finished. I guess I wanted to feel safe and I was alone, so I went to the closest place to my corner as I could get.”

Vanessa sat in silence throughout Mac’s speech, that was the most he had ever spoken at once, he stuttered a few time and she could see that a few tears had fallen, but she was proud of him for telling them how he was feeling and why he’d done what he did.

“I’m proud of you for telling us that Mac, that can’t have been easy. Is that why you lashed out, because someone was taking you away from where you felt safe.”

“A little, but when that doctor grabbed me, it was in the same place father used to grab me, usually when he wanted me to go somewhere I didn’t want to.”

Jack was rubbing Mac’s back; he was still leaning against him and he was shaking. “He can’t hurt you anymore bud.”

“Is it…” Mac trailed off.

“What kiddo, you can say.”

“Is it bad that I don’t think everything my father did was wrong?” Mac asked, expecting to be shouted at.

“Of course, not Mac,” Vanessa answered, knowing that there was no switch that could be flicked to make Mac suddenly feel the way he did before. “It’ll take time for you to realise those things. Suddenly you might just decide that what your father did was wrong, or you might always believe that he was right to do what he did. There are no right or wrong answers. I don’t want you to worry about that.”

Mac nodded, feeling a little better, he went and sat on the recliner, picking up one of his books, the discussion obviously finished.

After lunch Dr Fray came in with Vanessa to have a conversation with Mac about removing his cuffs.

“Mac, I need you to listen to something and I want you to wait until the end before you say anything,” Vanessa said, getting his full attention. “We need to talk about removing your cuffs.” She saw him look down at them, a worried look on his face. “You don’t need them on anymore and we’re worried that the longer they stay on the harder they will be to remove. Dr Fray is also worried about how you skin is, that skin hasn’t been exposed to the air or anything for over a month.”

“Father said they must never come off,” Mac started. “I know he put them on and told me they had to stay so he could restrain me easier. I know I don’t need them anymore, but it’s scary.”

“Of course, it is. We would never force you Mac, but we strongly recommend it.”

“When would you do it?”

“Before you go to sleep tonight,” Dr Fray said. “I’d like to also do one last set of scans, to make sure everything is healing nicely.”

“Can I think about it?” Mac asked, not completely ready to take them off.

“Of course. Can I take you for those scans now? Then we can come back later to remove the cuffs if you agree.”

“Can Jack come?” Mac asked, the first time he’d ever said anything other than yes or just nodded. “If that’s ok.” Mac looked at Jack quickly, realising he should have asked first.

“Course I can come kiddo, as long as it’s ok with the doc.”

“I have no issues with that, shall we go then.”

The three of them walked to the room where the tests took place and Mac decided to be brave and have then without sedatives. Jack stood as close as he was allowed, watching Mac shaking slightly while the x-rays were being taken.

Dr Fray came out, the ultrasound was more precise, the person needed to be very still. “Mac I know it’s hard, but you need to stay still.”

“I’m sorry,” Mac said, trying desperately, his body wasn’t having any of it though. “I’m sorry.”

“Kiddo, it’s not your fault, shall we try the sedative?” Jack hated seeing Mac hurting.

Mac nodded and Dr Fray came over. “This is a very mild sedative; it just calms your muscles, but you’ll remain awake.”

The scan went quickly once Mac wasn’t shaking so much and soon Doctor Fray told them that he was healing well, his kidneys looked almost normal, a bit more rest and they’d be back to the way they were before. His ribs were still broken, but there were healing much faster now.

Jack and Mac headed back to his room, he had to think about his cuffs some more, Mac knew that Jack didn’t understand, that no one did. He was still scared deep down that this wasn’t going to last and his father was going to come back, if he removed the cuffs his father would be furious, he told him they were custom made and one of a kind. If Mac removed them, he wouldn’t be getting anymore. They had been a part of him for over a month and it would feel a bit like losing a limb. He also knew that they were technically a foreign body and that they shouldn’t be on, who knew what his skin would be like underneath.

The decision was giving him a headache and he went and to lay down as soon as they were back.

“Hey buddy, you ok?”

“Can we not talk about it, my head hurts,” Mac replied, closing his eyes.

“Do you want some painkillers?” Jack asked, dimming the lights. Mac shook his head. “Ok kiddo, let me know if you change your mind.” Mac nodded and the room became quiet.

An hour later and Vanessa was back to see if Mac had decided, she found them in the same position they’d started in when they came back from the scans.

“Is he ok?”

“Headache, I think it’s from trying to make a decision, the poor kids tying himself in knots.”

“Mac it’s Vanessa, are you awake?”

“Yes.”

“If this decision is too difficult we can leave it for now, I don’t want you getting upset.”

“It’s ok, I’ve decided,” Mac said, sitting up. “Take them off, but….”

“But what Mac?” Vanessa asked, thinking she knew the answer.

“But I’d like to keep them. Just for now.”

Vanessa nodded, knowing that would be the case, she didn’t have any problems with it, knowing that they were a big part of his time with his father. Unless he formed some unhealthy attachment she didn’t mind him keeping them for a while.

“I’ll see if Dr Fray can meet us, we can have them off before dinner.”

Mac nodded, hoping he’d made the right decision, ten minutes later and Dr Fray was putting the key in the lock of his left ankle cuff, they decided to start there as the ankles were usually stronger. The key went in and the lock turned, the cuff was pulled slightly and Mac winced as it came off, Dr Fray inspected the skin and while it was red and dry there was no infection, the other ankle cuff came off much the same way.

Mac wasn’t looking forward to the wrist cuffs coming off, he knew that there may be some damage as he’d been hung from his wrists quite a few times, during some of those times his skin had bled. The first one came off and Mac gasped, as it pulled there were obvious signs of wounds that had been hidden, Dr Fray removed the other one before looking at them, the second was the same as the first.

“I’ll have to irrigate these, to make sure there’s no infection, then I’ll bandage them,” Dr Fray said. “It will be painful Mac; would you like to take something first?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Dr Fray didn’t look convinced but proceeded, after the wounds had both been irrigated and bandaged Mac’s eyes were scrunched up and he was panting, he suddenly felt some relief and looked up.

“I’m sorry Mac, I’ve given you a mild painkiller, you shouldn’t have to suffer.”

Mac was secretly pleased, he felt that he should take the pain, it was his fault the cuffs had been on for so long, he also deep down felt it was his fault that there were wounds to begin with. If he hadn’t needed punishment, then his father wouldn’t have hung him from his wrists.

“I’ll have the nurse bring in some food, I’m also prescribing a course of antibiotics, just to be on the safe side. I’ll see you later Mac.”

Dr Fray left and Vanessa and Jack both told Mac they were proud of him. He wasn’t sure he deserved it, but he smiled. Eating his dinner quietly when it came in. He went to bed that night more relaxed, Jack was staying again. Hopefully, the night would go by quickly and tomorrow would be a better day. And it would be, Mac didn’t know yet, but he was leaving the hospital, the house had been all set up ready, the fridge filled, Mac’s and Jack’s stuff already there. All it needed was its two occupants and life could start getting back to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew they're finally leaving medical. It can only get better, right


	32. Chapter 32

After breakfast Mac was told the news that he would soon be leaving, Jack smiling when he spoke.

“Leaving?” Mac asked, not knowing what that meant, were they kicking him out because he was healed and didn’t need to be there anymore. He wasn’t sure if he could just go back to his house, he hadn’t been there in so long.

“Yeah buddy, you don’t need to be here anymore. No more doctors poking and prodding you, you can do what you want, when you want,” Jack replied, realising that maybe he shouldn’t have said the last part. Mac suddenly looked scared, the poor kid hadn’t really been allowed to do what he wanted for a long time and it was probably a scary concept.

Mac smiled, knowing that’s what Jack wanted, he seemed happier than Mac was that he was being released. His stomach was in knots though, not knowing what to expect, was he going to be on his own, he knew Jack needed to be getting back to work and the others all had jobs too.

“Bozer bought some clothes for you while you were still asleep, why don’t you go have a shower and change. The doc wants to give you one last exam and then we can go.”

Mac nodded, wondering where the bag by the door had come from. He headed into the bathroom, hoping he would feel better about leaving after he’d been under the relaxing spray. Soon he was out of the shower and Dr Fray had changed his bandages, and removed the canula from his hand, giving Jack a bag of supplies.

“You ready to go kiddo?” Jack asked.

Mac was shaking, he didn’t know if he wanted to leave. Even though he hadn’t had the best time in medical, he felt safe there, the safest he’d felt in a while. He wasn’t sure where they were going, he didn’t know if Jack were going to take him and drop him off and he would have to fend for himself. He knew that he could look after himself, he was an adult and he had been a competent agent, but things were different now, he was different. Mac hoped that in time things would get back to the way they’d been before his father, he wanted to be able to go wherever he liked, do whatever he wanted, even eventually come back to work. He also knew that it would take time, and right then he needed help, he needed Jack.

“Hey kiddo, what’s wrong?” Jack asked, seeing the deer in the headlight’s expression on Mac’s face.

“I don’t want you to leave!” Mac exclaimed, his eyes holding so much emotion.

“Leave? Where do you think I’m going Mac?”

“I don’t know,” Mac replied honestly. “I figured when we got to wherever we’re going, you’d go back to your own life, go back to your flat, your job. You don’t need to look after me anymore.”

“Oh Mac, I’m sorry I didn’t explain well enough. I’m not leaving. We’re gonna be living together for a little while, Matty ok’d the time off and I don’t wanna leave you by yourself. And kiddo, I’ll always look after you, even when you don’t want me to.”

Mac smiled, glad that he’d been wrong, he hated that he was probably going to be dependent on Jack for a while, at least until he got his head around somethings. Jack didn’t seem to mind though and Mac was happy about that.

An hour later and they were walking into the safe house, Jack putting the bags by the door, turning around to see what Mac thought of the place.

“It’s not much, but Vanessa thought it would be good for you to be somewhere neutral for a bit, get used to living somewhere normal before going home.”

“It’s great,” Mac replied, walking through the door and looking around.

The place was small, kitchen and living room in one, doors at the back leading off to a patio, there was a corridor that must have led to the bedrooms and bathroom, it was better than Mac thought it would be. It didn’t remind him of where he’d been living which, was a bonus and it would be easy to maintain.

“Why don’t you sit on the couch and I’ll make some lunch,” Jack said, checking out what supplies they had.

“I should make lunch,” Mac replied, knowing that Jack had done so much already. “You should take a break.”

“I’ll tell you what, we’ll take it turns,” Jack said, not wanting the kid to tire himself out. “I’ll make lunch today, you do it tomorrow.”

Mac hesitated, his father always wanted him to make meals, said that he had to earn his keep, surely it would be the same here. If Jack was looking after him then he should help, Jack shouldn’t have to do everything. He was going to say this but realised he didn’t want to get in any trouble as they’d just arrived. He did as he was told and sat on the couch, watching Jack in the kitchen.

Jack was oblivious to the thoughts in Mac’s head, just thinking that the kid wanted to help out, he made the sandwiches and bought them over, trying to decide if he should just put the plate on the table and have Mac come over on his own, or tell Mac that it was time to eat.

Mac saw Jack putting the lunch on the table, and he wasn’t sure what he should do. He knew that Jack and Vanessa had been trying to get him to just eat without being told to, but he was finding it hard. It had been drummed into him that it was rude to take food that didn’t belong to you without being told first, his father had also informed him that he wouldn’t always deserve to be fed and that he had to wait until his father had decided.

Mac chewed his lip, watching Jack sit down and take a bite out of his sandwich. He supposed that Jack wouldn’t have made him any lunch if he didn’t deserve it, but he was still unsure if it would be rude to just start eating. He decided to at least sit at the table, maybe Jack was waiting for him to do that before he gave him permission.

Jack sighed, realising that Mac was still sitting on the couch, it looked like they needed to have a discussion again about food. He was about to tell Mac that it was time to eat when he saw him walk over to the table. Mac sat down, but kept his hands in his lap, looking at the food but not touching it.

“Mac, you don’t need permission,” Jack said, hoping that would be all he needed to say.

“It’s rude to take food that doesn’t belong to me,” Mac replied, wanting Jack to know why he wasn’t eating.

Jack sighed again, starting to realise that Mac had had so many things drummed into him, it was going to take a while for them to straighten everything out. “Ok, I can understand that. But bud, everything here is yours, so it doesn’t apply.”

“It’s yours too.”

“That’s true, but what’s mine is yours, you know that. Don’t feel afraid to get something to eat if you need it, hell if you want it. All I ask is that if you use the last of something, you let me know so I can add it to the grocery list.”

“Father had me write down anything that had been finished and needed to be bought. We could put a note pad in the kitchen?”

“Great idea,” Jack said, smiling. He thought it was first time Mac had suggested something on his own, he just hoped that it continued.

After lunch, Mac insisted on washing up, so Jack had let him, he had to know which battles to fight and which to concede. They soon settled onto the couch and watched a movie; Jack didn’t want the first day to be stressful. Vanessa was coming over the next day to see how they were settling in and to give Mac some exercises and things she wanted him to work on.

The day was soon over, and Jack saw Mac tense up at the mention of bedtime. Mac probably wasn’t sure where he was going to be sleeping, he’d only slept in a bed for a couple of days, used to sleeping on the floor. Now that he was healing, they both wondered in their own ways if Mac would be sleeping on the floor again.

Jack led him to the bedrooms, they were right next to each other, although if necessary Jack would sleep in the same room as Mac, until he was used to it. Mac breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the bed, even though he shouldn’t have done, all he could think was his room back at his father’s place. It was completely bare and usually he would have to sleep in the corner, chained up. He had visions of the same thing happening here.

He knew Jack wouldn’t be so cruel, although this was their first night so deep-down Mac wondered if being secured for the night would be something that would happen.

“Should I sleep in the bed?” Mac asked, wanting to be sure.

“You sleep wherever you like buddy, I’m sure the bed would be comfier than the floor though,” Jack replied, keeping his fingers crossed that Mac would choose the bed over the floor.

“And..” Mac trailed off, not wanting to make Jack mad.

“And what bud, you can ask anything.”

“There won’t be any restraints tonight?”

Jack’s face couldn’t hide the anger he felt, how could Mac have asked that. He calmed down once Mac flinched away, whispering “I’m sorry.”

“Mac, I will never tie you up, never. I don’t care what’s happened in the past, or what you’re used to. Now your father is gone and you’re free from the hospital that will never happen again, do you understand.”

Mac nodded, wishing he’d kept the question to himself, he didn’t like making Jack upset. Again deep down he knew that Jack would never do anything like that to him, he was just so used to being restrained in some way, ever since he’d first woken up in that basement he’d always been secured, especially at night. Then it happened more than once at the hospital. It would take some time for his brain to realise that it wouldn’t happen again.

“Now, will you be ok sleeping by yourself? I’ll just be in the next room. Or would you like me in here with you tonight?”

Mac could have cried, he assumed that he would be sleeping by himself, he should have known Jack wouldn’t let him. He was a big boy though and Jack needed his rest. “I’ll be ok.”

“If you’re sure. You need anything, I’m just next door, I’ll leave the door open, just call ok.”

Mac nodded, walking into his room to get ready for bed, he smiled again, for the first time he was getting ready and he didn’t need to worry about anything. He didn’t have to worry about taking too long, he didn’t have to worry about someone walking in on him, he certainly didn’t have to worry about doing something wrong. Mac got into bed, under the covers and fell asleep straight away, not moving until the morning.

When Mac woke up the next morning he went straight to the kitchen, hoping that he could surprise Jack with breakfast. He knew he hadn’t been the easiest person to be around lately, and he was still weary of being a burden. Cooking Jack’s breakfast would be something he could do; he’d cooked enough for his father that he could do it easily.

Jack woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon, he frowned, thinking maybe Bozer had come over to cook them breakfast. While he would be grateful, he would have to speak to him about coming over unannounced. He got up and changed, heading into the living area, to see Mac by himself, dishing up breakfast for them both.

“Morning kiddo, smells good,” Jack said, sitting at the table. 

“I was just wondering if I should wake you,” Mac replied, hovering by the table, seeming unsure of himself. “I hope bacon, pancakes and maple syrup are ok?”

“It’s great, I didn’t know you could cook!” Jack exclaimed, digging in.

“I had to learn,” Mac said, glad Jack seemed to be enjoying himself.

Jack shook his head slightly at Mac’s words, not I wanted to learn, or my dad taught me. I had to learn, probably got punished every time he made a mistake. “Sit down buddy, or it’ll go cold.”

“Do you need anything?” Mac asked, sitting when Jack shook his head. Mac was used to eating cold food, sometimes his father would take a while to eat, by the time he’d given Mac permission to have something, anything hot had gone cold and he knew he wouldn’t be able to reheat it.

He dug into the food, thinking that it was the best thing he’d eaten in a while, he really hoped that he could get used to eating again with being told to, he missed food and he thought maybe some of the reason he couldn’t shake certain feelings and behaviours was because his body was too weak. His father seemed to let Mac eat just enough, not too much, he wanted him to be weak, not to able to fight back, having just enough energy for some of the work he had him doing but not enough that he would want to stray too far.

“You cooked, so I’ll clean,” Jack said, ready to get up.

“No, I wanted to do everything this morning, you deserve a break,” Mac replied, picking up the crockery and cutlery.

“Ok buddy, but I’m making lunch.”

He watched Mac balance all the things walking the short way to the kitchen, he almost made it but flinched when the doorbell rang, everything smashing to the floor.

Jack watched Mac freeze, his breath quickening and his body rigid, as if he were expecting to be hit straight away. He probably would have been if he’d been with his father, luckily Jack didn’t care about a few broken plates. Slowly Mac turned.

“I’m sorry, I’ll clean it up, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

Vanessa had opened the door when she heard the crash, worried what was happening, seeing the scene before her broke her heart, as if breaking a few plates should make someone this scared.

“Mac, buddy it’s ok. It’s just stuff, you don’t have to say sorry,” Jack said, approaching the kid slowly, not wanting to make any sudden moves.

Mac wasn’t listening, he was picking up the broken china and putting it in the bin, his heart racing. He didn’t know what had happened, one minute they were happy and the next he was ruining it. He wondered what his punishment would be, obviously nothing as bad as his father would have given him, but he had to get something. A hand touched his shoulder and he moved away instinctively, expecting to get grabbed and dragged off at any minute. He looked up, seeing Jack’s concerned face, then spotting Vanessa behind him.

“Mac, I’m sorry buddy, I shouldn’t have touched you. Can you stop what you’re doing and look at me please.”

Mac heard that time, he immediately did as he was told, knowing that he shouldn’t have moved away, he wasn’t sure what he expected from Jack but listened anyway.

“Things get broken kiddo; all the time and you can’t fix everything. I know you’ve been told that it was bad to break things, even if it wasn’t your fault. I need you to listen when I tell you that it’s ok to break things when there’s an accident, like just now. The doorbell rang and it scared you, it’s ok that you jumped, and it’s ok that you dropped everything.”

“It’s not mine,” Mac whispered, wanting to justify his actions.

“That’s true, but what I said still applies. We can easily replace anything broken; I don’t want you to get so worked up.”

“Jack’s right Mac. I know instinctively you think you’ve done something wrong, and that’s ok, but you must listen to what Jack, or I are saying. If we tell you that it’s ok, then it is,” Vanessa spoke, needing to make Mac understand.

Mac sat for a minute, taking in what was being said, it was so hard to not panic. When he broke two plates and a cup at home his father had beat him, not even taking him away to do it, leaving him curled up on the kitchen floor afterwards, before making him tidy up. This was much worse; everything was broken, and it seemed not to matter.

“You won’t punish me?” Mac asked, needing to be sure.

“No kiddo, no punishment,” Jack said, finding it hard to keep his emotions in check. He could only imagine what the kids father had done to him. “There will be no more punishments Mac, I want you to try not to worry.

Mac nodded, continued to clean up the broken stuff, even though Jack had told him it didn’t matter, it still needed to be tidied up. He broke it, so he should clean it up.

Jack left Mac to it, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to stop him. He motioned for Vanessa to follow him, walking over to the patio doors.

“Everything was going so well until this,” Jack said, running his hands down his face.

“He’s been ok?”

Jack nodded, saying that there had been a few small issues but nothing major. “He got up and cooked me breakfast this morning, had it waiting for when I got out of bed.”

“That’s good, gives him some independence.”

“I’m pretty sure he only did it because he made his father’s meals, probably thought he’d have to do the same here.”

“I want to sit down with him, go over some things. Ideally he needs to set himself some tasks for the day, even if it’s only one per day to start off with.”

A little while later and they were doing exactly that, Mac sitting on the couch with Jack next to him, Vanessa on the armchair opposite.

“Mac do you remember your life before you were kidnapped?” Vanessa questioned.

“But you shouldn’t look backwards, only forwards,” Mac said, his father liked saying that.

“Looking backwards isn’t a bad thing Mac, especially if you’re thinking about memories. Before your father took you, things were different,” Vanessa replied, keeping her voice calm.

“I was different,” Mac said, lowering his head. He knew that he was weaker now, broken and he was ashamed of it.

“You can get back to that kiddo, it’ll just take some time,” Jack added, not liking Mac’s demeanour.

“I’m too broken,” Mac whispered, tears leaking from his eyes.

“I’m not going to lie to you Mac,” Vanessa said, finding it hard to not reach out and touch her patient. “It’s going to be hard getting back to normal, things may never be the same. But you are not too broken. We can help if you’ll let us.”

Mac sat for a little while taking in what Vanessa had said, he didn’t want to feel the way he did, weak, pathetic, scared of every little thing. His father had told him so many times that he didn’t deserve the life he had, he didn’t deserve to have thoughts and feelings of his own, he only could do what his father told him. He was so used to walking on eggshells, hoping that something he did wouldn’t set his father off. Worrying every minute that he would be punished for something he’d done, or just punished to keep him in line. His father would pull him aside at random times, beat him or hurt him in some other way, just because he didn’t want Mac to get too comfortable. It kept him on edge, compliant and broken so he wouldn’t attempt to leave or disobey his father. Mac knew that it was over, his father wasn’t coming back, he was safe, he knew deep down that Jack wouldn’t do anything that his father did. He hoped Vanessa was right and that he would get back to normal, he really hated the way he was and wished that the last month hadn’t happened.

“What do I need to do?” Mac asked, hoping that Vanessa had the cure for everything.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to reiterate I am not a medical professional and I've no idea what trauma psychologists do to help their patients. Hope the things I've had Vanessa suggest are ok.

The next few days went well for Mac, he tried extremely hard to not flinch when Jack was too close, or he did something that he would usually get punished for. He was sleeping well, happy to be able to sleep in a bed again, not realising how much he’d missed it. They had got into a routine, Vanessa saying that it was helpful in his recovery. They tried to do the same things each day at the same time, only changes being some of the things she’d asked him to do.

Mac had started a journal, he was to write down anything that went through his mind, especially the things he didn’t feel comfortable saying aloud. When he did something that he felt he’d done wrong, every time he thought about his father, unfortunately that was often and any other thought that came to mind.

He was also asked to write down as much as possible about his time with his father, Vanessa said it would be helpful to know some of the things he’d been subjected to, what he could and couldn’t do, it would help for her and the others to know if there would be any triggers, anything they should either avoid or deal with carefully. She had also started going through some of the list with Mac, trying to get him to understand that what his father did was wrong and that he didn’t deserve it.

“So, you’ve put here that you broke two plates and a cup and that your father beat you,” Vanessa said, now knowing why Mac had responded so badly the other day. “What were his reasons?”

“The plates and cup weren’t mine and I should’ve been more careful,” Mac replied, knowing that it hadn’t been the only time it had happened.

“So, you deserved to be punished?”

“Yes, I shouldn’t have broken them.”

“Did you break them on purpose?”

“No, why does that matter?” Mac asked, confused. Whether he broke them on purpose or not they were still broken, and it was his fault.

“Mac, accidents happen, and we shouldn’t have to worry about getting into trouble for them,” Vanessa responded, hoping to get through. “Getting beaten for something small like that shouldn’t have happened.”

“It wasn’t a bad beating, I’ve had worse,” Mac said, trying to justify what had happened. “He had to punish me.”

“Did Jack punish you for breaking the china the other day?”

“No.”

“But he should of?” Vanessa asked, wondering what Mac’s response would be.

“Yes, I don’t understand why he didn’t. That deserved a beating for sure, if not some sort of punishment.”

“And if Jack had broken the china instead of you, should he have been punished?”

Mac froze, wondering why Vanessa was asking, that hadn’t happened, and Jack would never do that. “No of course not.”

“Why?” Vanessa asked, hoping that she was making some progress.

“Because he wouldn’t deserve it.”

“But you would?”

“Of course.”

“Mac, I need you to make me understand why you would deserve punishment for something that wasn’t your fault but someone else wouldn’t. That doesn’t make sense to me.”

“If father didn’t punish me, then I would do more bad things, I would disobey him or try to leave, I needed it. Father had to remain strong, and he had to make me strong too. He couldn’t though, I’m just too weak.”

Vanessa sighed, she thought she could use logic to get Mac to understand that what his father had done was wrong, unfortunately in Mac’s mind, everything his father did was right, and it was what he deserved.

“Let’s move on to something different. You wrote that when your father went out he had to make sure you were safe before he went, that meant restraining and hiding you. Can you tell me about that?”

“There was a hole in the living room floor, just big enough for a person. It was the perfect place to hide in case someone came looking, my father had me go in there,” Mac said, happy to move on.

“If you were just hiding, why the restraints?”

“He had to make sure I wouldn’t escape while he was gone, and that I would stay where I was, it wasn’t a comfortable space, if he hadn’t have secured me I might have wanted to get out.”

“I see, so he restrained your hands and feet, anything else?”

“He blindfolded me and put a gag in, then he gave me a sedative,” Mac replied, completely calm, like this was completely normal.

“That seems excessive,” Vanessa said, hoping that Mac agreed, knowing deep down that he wouldn’t.

“The gag was so I didn’t shout out if someone came, the blindfold and sedatives were to keep me calm, it was small, claustrophobic. Usually I woke up and my father would let me out not long after.”

“Usually?” Vanessa said, catching the slight hitch in Mac’s voice.

“The last time he was gone a lot longer than he should’ve been, it was hours after I woke up that he let me out, I cried and wet myself. Father wasn’t happy.”

“But it was his fault?”

“I shouldn’t have been so disgusting, wetting myself, that’s not what an adult does, and I knew he’d be back at some point, crying was stupid and weak.”

“You were punished for it?” Vanessa asked, praying he wasn’t.

“Father hit me, then he made me clean up the mess I’d made. He apologised later, said that he shouldn’t have been gone so long.”

“He apologised? So, it was his fault, that means anything that happened wasn’t on you.”

“He was gone a long time, I guess it wasn’t my fault for wetting myself. I was scared he wasn’t coming back, and I’d be stuck there, that’s why I cried. That was weak though.”

“Crying doesn’t make you weak Mac. No matter what your father said. It was perfectly normal to be worried that you were going to be stuck where you were, perfectly normal to feel a little scared.”

Mac nodded, knowing that Vanessa was right. He had been in the hole a lot longer than he should of and his father had apologised for leaving him so long.

“Would you have escaped it you’d had the chance?” Vanessa asked, deciding she needed to know.

“There would’ve been no point, I didn’t have anywhere to go, and father was trying to keep me safe, I had to stay,” Mac replied, really believing it.

“What about Jack and the rest of you team, couldn’t you have gone to them?”

“They didn’t want me, only my father did.”

“You know different now Mac? Don’t you?”

“I know my father lied, Jack wants me, I don’t know why though, I’m not the same Mac he knew.”

“Your father lied to keep you under control, everyone was looking for you from the moment you went missing. And we talked about this, you’ll get there, and Jack doesn’t care one way or the other how much old Mac you get back. He’s happy you’re here at all.”

Vanessa and Mac had kept talking for another hour, she thought she was making some slow progress and she decided to stop before things got too much. The team were coming over that evening and she wanted to give Mac some time to prepare.

“Mac, I want you to promise me that if gets too much, you’ll go to your room. I don’t want you suffering, thinking you have to stay,” Jack said, just before the others were due to arrive.

Mac didn’t really understand what Jack meant but he nodded anyway, if he just kept quiet, he was sure they’d have fun and forget he was there. He didn’t want to be a burden or bother anyone, if he was upset he’d just keep quiet.

“Ok good, why don’t you go sit outside, Riley and Bozer will be here in a bit.”

Mac did as he was told, noticing when he went out that there weren’t enough chairs for everyone, he thought he better sit on the floor, he was sure the others would want the chairs. He placed himself in the corner between the wall of the house and the fence, pulling his knees to his chest. Comfortable he waited.

Jack was oblivious to what Mac was doing, getting beers out of the fridge and waiting for the doorbell to ring. When it did he opened it, speaking quietly to his friends before letting them in.

“Just be patient with him, ok. He has his ups and downs, mostly downs unfortunately, I’m hoping maybe with all of us around him, it might make him feel better.”

“We got this Jack, no pressure, just some beers, pizza and conversation,” Riley replied, thinking that Jack looked like he needed a break.

“Totally, where is he?” Bozer asked.

“Out on the patio, come through, Cage and Matty are picking pizza up they’ll be here in fifteen,” Jack replied, walking with the others to the outside doors, stopping short when he saw where Mac was sitting.

The others squeezed past him, eager to see their friend, also stopping short, not quite sure what to say.

Bozer reacted first. “Hey Mac, you ok?” He went to sit down beside his friend, hoping the proximity wouldn’t upset him.

“I’m fine,” Mac replied, surprised when his friend sat beside him. “There are chairs.”

“I know dude, but I wanted to sit next to you. You obviously felt more comfortable over here.”

Mac frowned, why would Bozer want to sit next to him, a chair would have been better especially with the others coming.

“Hey Mac, there room for one more,” Riley said, sitting on his other side.

She smiled at him, spreading her legs out in front of her, it wasn’t too bad at least there was no gravel.

Jack smiled. “Well I’m too old to be sitting on the floor, so I guess I’ll take one of these chairs. Leave you young’uns to it.”

“You’re not that old Jack!” Riley exclaimed, laughing.

“I don’t know Riley, he gets down here he might never get up,” Bozer added, also laughing.

“Gee thanks Boze.”

They all noticed that Mac wasn’t laughing with them, and it was hard not hearing him join in, not having him call Jack old man. They hoped that he would get there eventually, for now they just had to be patient with him. 

“There a reason ya down on the floor bud?” Jack asked, worried that Mac had retreated to the corner, he hadn’t done that in a while.

“Not enough chairs,” Mac replied, shrugging.

Jack turned and counted, noticing that Mac was right, there were only five chairs and he sighed, Mac had obviously assumed he wasn’t allowed to sit in one.

“I’m sorry kiddo I didn’t realise, we can get another chair, no problem.”

“It’s fine, used to the floor.”

“No worries Mac, we’re good here. Aren’t we Riley?” Bozer said, getting as comfortable as he could.

“Definitely, we kids gotta stick together,” Riley replied, smiling at Mac, touching his knee gently.

Mac smiled shyly up at her, still a little confused as to why they’d stay, it wasn’t as comfortable as he’d hoped it’d be, probably because he hadn’t sat on a floor for a while. He was gonna say so when the door opened, revealing Matty and Cage.

“Pizza’s here,” Matty said, her and Cage holding the boxes between them. “What you guys doing on the floor?”

“We’re having a kids only party down here,” Riley said, her hand still on Mac’s knee. “No old people invited.”

Matty raised her eyebrows. “Who exactly are you calling old!”

“Yeah, Jack I understand but Matty and I clearly don’t fall in that category,” Cage responded, noticing that there was a little tension and playing along.

“Sorry Cage, anyone over the age of thirty isn’t invited,” Bozer said laughing, especially at the look on Jack’s face.

“Fair enough,” Cage replied, following Jack into the house.

“What’s going on?” Matty asked, joining Jack and Cage in the kitchen.

“We went out to find Mac in the corner, Boze and Ri sat down with him, wanted him to feel wanted I guess. Turns out there are only five chairs and six of us. I’m assuming he thought that meant he had to sit on the floor,” Jack replied, running his hand down his face and sighing.

“It’s going to take some time for him to feel part of the group again,” Cage said, picking up some beers. “We’ll just have to try hard to get him to except us, come out of his shell a bit.”

Jack nodded, grabbing the remaining beers, realising as they were about to leave that he wasn’t sure if Mac should have one. “Do I give him a beer?”

“Is he taking any medication?” Matty asked.

“No, just finished his antibiotics.”

“Then if he wants one, he can have one.”

Jack nodded taking them out, he handed Bozer and Riley their’s before passing the last one to Mac, hoping that he’d take it.

Mac had been listening to Bozer and Riley talking, speaking up occasionally, especially when they spoke directly to him. He was feeling a little more relaxed, but he tensed up when Jack handed him a beer. Suddenly flashing back to the last time, he handled a bottle.

“What is that?” His father exclaimed, coming over to the kitchen table.

Mac wasn’t sure what his father was referring to, so he didn’t answer, turning to look at him confused.

James picked up the bottle of beer and grabbed the back of his neck. “I asked you a question!”

“It’s beer,” Mac said, shaking.

The bottle was thrown against the wall smashing into pieces, his dinner plate being pushed off the table and breaking on the floor.

“Who told you, you could touch my beer?” James cried, pulling Mac up and pushing him against the wall.

“I’m sorry,” Mac said, he didn’t even realise that he’d got the bottle out until he was looking at it. He’d meant to get a bottle of coke.

“You will be!”

James then proceeded to hit him, pushing him to the floor, kicking him hard in the side until Mac curled up into a ball. He grabbed his hair, pulling him up.

“Clean up this mess and then go to your room, you don’t deserve any food tonight.”

With that James stormed off, Mac slowly cleaned up and made his way to the basement, tears falling.

“Mac, kiddo what’s wrong,” Jack asked, watching Mac’s breathing speed up.

He crouched down and tried to get his attention, the others concerned and not sure what to do.

“I think he’s having a flashback,” Cage said, getting up and removing the beer bottles. The others let her take them, knowing they were the cause.

“I’m not allowed, I’m not allowed,” Mac repeated, tears falling down his cheeks.

Riley moved so that Jack could get in beside Mac, he put his arms around Mac’s shoulders and squeezed.

“It’s ok kiddo, my fault. Just breathe, you’re ok.”

Mac listened to Jack’s voice, breathing in line with him, slowly his breaths not coming so fast. He opened his eyes to find everyone staring at him, he immediately put his head onto his knees.

“I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for bud.”

“I ruined everything. You should all go, leave me, I’ll be ok.”

Everyone’s heart broke, no one having the slightest inclination to do what he was suggesting, they all stayed where they were. Bozer and Riley both touching Mac’s shoulder and knee and Jack still with his arm wrapped around him.

“Nobody’s going anywhere kiddo, we’re not leaving you. Just breathe and then you can tell us what happened,” Jack said, rubbing his hand across Mac’s shoulder, hoping to calm him down.

Mac didn’t lift his head up; he was too ashamed. He freaked out over a bottle of beer and now he was crying. Why would everyone want to stay when he was acting so pathetic? A small voice, deep inside said, because that’s what family does.


	34. Chapter 34

Ten minutes after Mac’s meltdown and everyone was still quiet, waiting for him to get himself together.

“I’m sorry,” Mac said again, instinctively.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Jack said, repeating the earlier phrase. “You feel up to telling us what happened?”

Mac sat up, sniffing, he wasn’t sure what to say, it was stupid to act how he did. “It’s stupid.”

“No Mac, it’s not. Come on bud, you said you weren’t allowed. Did your dad say that?”

Mac nodded, “I was having dinner and I’d accidently taken a bottle of his beer out of the fridge.” He stopped, looking up, everyone waiting. “He came in and saw, he got angry. Asked me who told me I was allowed it, he smashed it against the wall and then pushed everything off the table.”

Mac’s breath hitched, and Jack tightened his hold. “Go on.”

“I said I was sorry, and he said I would be. Started hitting me. When he finally stopped, he told me to clean up the mess and go to my room. I didn’t deserve any dinner. I wouldn’t have taken it out on purpose, I knew I wasn’t allowed, I promise, I didn’t mean to.”

“Kiddo, it’s ok. Your father ain’t here, no need to be apologising to any of us,” Jack said, pulling the kid into his arms, holding him while he cried again.

Riley and Bozer were barely holding it together, neither of them had heard much about the things James had done to Mac, not in any detail. They knew it was bad, had watched the originally recordings and seen reports and pictures. Hearing Mac tell them his father beat him because he touched his beer, it was a lot. They both couldn’t even imagine what his father had done to him the whole month he was gone.

Matty and Cage were both aware of the violence that Mac had been subjected to, although this was the first time either of them had heard about it direct from Mac. Cage got up to get a glass of water, bringing it over to Mac. She took a good look at him and had a flashback herself. She had visited him once while he was in medical and things hadn’t gone too well.

“Hi Mac, can I come in?” Cage asked, seeing that he was sitting reading a book.

Mac looked up, nodding. Jack had gone to the cafeteria, so he was alone, he wasn’t sure what Cage wanted, tensing slightly when she sat down.

“I’m not going to ask how you are, because I know it’s a stupid question. I want to let you know that I’m here if you want to talk, about anything.”

“What did you want to talk about?” Mac asked, flinching slightly, when he realised he asked a question.

“Whatever you want to talk about,” Cage replied, noticing the flinch and raising her eyebrows. “I spoke to your father Mac, he told me a lot of what he did to you.”

Mac gasped, she knew what had happened, knew what punishments he’d had to have, knew how bad he’d been. What did she want him to say?

“If you want to talk about it, I’m here to listen.”

Mac’s breathing started to increase, he started getting agitated, he couldn’t look at Cage knowing that she knew what he’d been through. She probably knew everything, how he’d been humiliated by his father, the beatings, electric shocks, how he’d be tortured. How it had got so bad that he’d cried, wet and soiled himself, wishing sometimes that he could just die so the pain would stop.

“Mac, I didn’t mean to upset you, can you take some slower breaths,” Cage said, touching him gently.

It was like an electric shock, he jumped, pulling away from her, curling himself up so tightly he was hurting himself. Cage shouted for someone, not knowing what to do. Beating herself up, wishing that she’d either waited until Mac was stronger or until Jack had been there. Mac was so bad that the doctor had to sedate him, worried that he’d injure himself. She left, sending a message of apology to Jack, knowing that he’d be mad at her, he just hoped that he’d forgive her sooner rather than later.

Coming back to the present, she watched as Mac took the water, hiding his face back in Jack’s chest the second he’d drunk it. She got up and sat back down, content like the others to just sit in silence and be there for a friend.

Mac’s mind was going a mile a minute, he was tense yet relaxed, which seemed a bit strange. He was expecting to get pushed away at any minute, for one of the others to tell him to pull it together, to stop being weak. Part of him knew that wouldn’t happen, he was safe here, he could feel Bozer’s hand on his shoulder, just underneath Jacks, feel Riley’s hand on his knee. He knew Matty and Cage weren’t far away, slowly he relaxed completely and fell asleep. Waking a while later to soft conversation.

“Hey, sleeping beauty,” Jack said, his arm still around his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Mac said again, pulling away from Jack and getting up, staggering slightly.

Before anyone could stop him he headed inside, needing a minute to himself. He reached the bathroom and locked the door, taking care of his full bladder before looking in the mirror. He sighed, looking back at him was a stranger, he wondered if he’d ever look at himself and see who he was before. He sat down on the closed toilet, trying to decide what he should do. Jack had told him that if it got too much for him, he should go to his room, maybe that was best. That way the others could still enjoy themselves. He thought about it though and realised that they’d all probably be worried, it would be rude to leave. He unlocked the door and walked out, sitting on the sofa, the floor was too hard.

“Hey buddy, you ok?” Jack asked, sitting next to him.

Mac nodded, not knowing what to say, thinking if he spoke he’d probably burst into tears again. The others made their way into the room, gathering around him. There wasn’t a lot of room, but they managed it, silence once again filling the space.

“Do you need anything Mac?” Riley asked, sitting beside him, the other side from Jack.

Mac shook his head, his stomach making his hunger known, he smiled slightly.

“I’ll get you some pizza,” Bozer said, getting up from the kitchen chair, bringing it over a minute later.

“Thanks,” Mac said, eating it immediately, he couldn’t remember the last time he had pizza.

“Slow down there hoss, it’s not going anywhere,” Jack said smiling. Glad that Mac was eating, now they just had to get him talking. “So, who wants to watch a movie?”

There was a chorus of yes’s and he put Netflix on, soon finding something light-hearted they’d all enjoy. They wouldn’t bring up Mac’s meltdown or his father again, unless Mac spoke himself, just watching a movie and talking about random things would hopefully be enough. Mac was content to sit there, surrounded by family, he leant into Jack when he started to feel tired again, instinctively drawn to him. Jack once again put his arm around him, settling back against the sofa until they were both comfortable. They stayed that way, until they both fell asleep, their family tidying up and leaving them, Matty locking up with the spare key she had to all the safe houses.

Mac woke up the next morning, disorientated, he was still fully clothed, and he was leaning against something that was moving. He looked over confused and realised that it was Jack. He gasped, getting to his feet, putting some distance between them, remembering what had happened the night before.

“Morning kiddo, you ok?” Jack asked, he’d been awake for a few minutes, trying to decide if he should wake Mac or not.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have fallen asleep,” Mac said, shuffling slightly across the room.

“Come here Mac,” Jack said, tapping the sofa. Mac looked unsure. “Please.”

Mac sat down, if you could call it that, he was practically hanging off the edge of the sofa.

“I don’t understand you apologising for falling asleep. You’ve done nothing wrong kiddo; in fact, I should be apologising to you. I fell asleep too, you could say that it’s my fault we didn’t sleep in our beds last night.”

Mac sighed, he instinctively apologised, he knew he needed to stop, but it was hard. There were times that he’d fallen asleep while with his father and he was slapped awake, he wasn’t allowed to sleep unless his father said he could. Falling asleep on the sofa the whole night, that would have been something that would have been forbidden. He knew that it was different with Jack.

“If I was with my father he would have been mad, it was instinct to apologise,” Mac said, sliding back slightly.

“Ok bud, I get it. We need to try to get that instinct gone, you’re not going to get back to normal if you keep apologising every five minutes. We’ll talk to Vanessa, see if she’s got any ideas.”

Mac nodded, knowing Jack was right. He wished it weren’t so hard, he wanted to get back to normal, he hated feeling this way.

“Why don’t you jump in the shower and I’ll start breakfast,” Jack said, getting up and walking to the kitchen.

“Ok, sounds good,” Mac replied, heading to the bathroom, praying that the day would go off without a hitch, he wanted to try his hardest to hold his tongue if he felt an apology coming, maybe that was the way to go. Or he could distract himself somehow, he’d think about it while he showered, he knew he could take his time, Jack wouldn’t mind at all.

Hours later and Vanessa had arrived, wanting to continue talking to Mac about his progress, she decided to sit and observe him for a while, that and his journal would help her with any plans she already had in place. Jack and Mac were cleaning the small house, wanting it to be neat and tidy for when they left, which Vanessa hoped would be soon. She noticed Mac doing something strange, he had done it a few times and she decided that if he did it again she was going to ask him about it.

Cleaning done they went about making lunch, she heard that it was Mac’s turn, but Jack had offered to help, they made enough for her too and she would be glad for some conversation. They all sat down at the kitchen table, making small talk. This was not the time to stress Mac out with observations and questions.

“Mac, I wanted to ask you about something,” Vanessa said, once the lunch things had been cleaned away. “Can you come sit down.”

“Shall I go?” Jack asked, knowing that Vanessa liked to have it be just of the two of them for her sessions.

“Not just yet Jack, why don’t you sit down too.”

Mac and Jack sat on the sofa, waiting for Vanessa to speak.

“I few times today I’ve seen you pinching the skin on your arm, or that’s what it looked like you were doing. I’m a bit concerned that you might be hurting yourself.”

Jack turned immediately, worried that he’d missed something.

Mac sat quietly, the urge to say sorry strong, he knew Vanessa and Jack would see but he pinched his skin hard, wincing as he did it.

“Mac?” Vanessa asked, at the same time Jack exclaimed. “Mac, what are you doing!”

“I’m stopping myself, saying sorry, I shouldn’t be doing it anymore, but I can’t help it!! If I do this I think about the pain instead of the words,” Mac cried, knowing that they were disappointed in him.

“Kiddo, I said we’d talk to Vanessa about that, she must have some ideas you can try that don’t hurt you. Why didn’t you speak to her?” Jack said, not believing what he was hearing.

Mac shrugged; he didn’t want to rely on other people for everything.

“I’m glad you feel like saying sorry all the time is something you need to work on, but like Jack said, I wish you’d talked to me. I can’t have you hurting yourself Mac, no matter if the pain doesn’t last or there are no visible wounds. I need you to stop and we’ll figure out something else that will help.”

Mac sighed, he wasn’t hurting himself, not really. He could handle a little bit of pain; it was nothing compared to what he’d been through. But Vanessa was there to help, and if she said there was a better way then he should listen. He nodded, sinking into the cushions behind him, he couldn’t seem to do anything right.

“You seem upset Mac, do you want to talk about anything?” Vanessa asked, watching his body language.

Mac looked up at her, wondering if he should say anything, she seemed to be genuinely interested. He bit his lip, trying to decide. “I feel like I can’t do anything right.”

“Why does that bother you?”

“I shouldn’t still be this way; I need to get back to normal. It’s been ages since I left home and days since I left the hospital, but nothing’s changed.”

“You’re wrong Mac,” Vanessa said, watching Jack put his hand on Mac’s knee. “You’ve come a long way from that first day I met you. When you wouldn’t come out of the corner or talk to me unless I asked you a question. You don’t have to be told to eat anymore; you do a lot of things without seeking permission. Mac, this is a great start, but it’s going to take a lot longer for you to get anywhere near normal. I’m sorry if I didn’t explain that to you.”

Mac thought about what Vanessa was saying, realising that he had come a long way, he was starting to feel more relaxed in the house, knowing that he could do what he wanted, when he wanted. He was already using that new found freedom, unfortunately there wasn’t a lot to do in the small place.

Jack was watching his friend, hoping that Mac was listening to Vanessa and would realise how far he’d come. He was watching for any signs that his kid wasn’t happy, or for signs of something he could help with. He realised suddenly that he knew what Mac needed.

“You’re bored.”

“Bored?” Mac questioned, wondering where Jack had come up with the idea.

“You’ve been sitting around the hospital and the house with nothing to do but read a few books and play a few games with me. You’re bored and you don’t wanna say anything.”

“It would be nice to have something to do,” Mac said, ducking his head, he didn’t want to ask for too much.

“What do you say doc, is he up for an outing?” Jack asked, turning to Vanessa.

“Where did you have in mind?” Vanessa replied, not having any idea what Jack was planning.

“That’s up to Mac, but I figured he’d like some stuff so he could make something, keep his hands busy and his mind occupied.”

Mac smiled, he loved the idea, there was so many things he could get. He still chewed his bottom lip, not sure if going out was a good idea, he hadn’t been outside properly in over a month, probably leaning towards two. But Jack would be there and maybe Vanessa too, he could do it, or he hoped he could.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Strong vivid flashback, quite graphic

Four days later and Mac was much happier, the outing had been interesting, he’d felt very conscious of everyone staring at him, as if they knew what he’d been through. Jack had stayed close and had been patient, especially when Mac couldn’t make up his mind what to buy. He remembered a moment clearly, going back to it.

“Kiddo take your time, there’s no rush,” Jack had said, standing ready with the trolley. “I’m happy with whatever ya choose.”

“But it’s your money,” Mac replied, biting his lip again, it was becoming a habit.

“It is, but that’s only cos we haven’t sorted yours out yet. You can pay me back if ya want.”

Mac’s cards and belongings were all still at his house and Jack had decided that they’d wait until they were back there to sort them out. He wasn’t even sure if Mac would remember his pin numbers.

Mac nodded, not thinking about that, he would make sure to keep the receipts so he could pay Jack back. Feeling a bit better he looked back at the items on the shelf, jumping slightly by a voice behind him.

“Will you just hurry up already!” A man exclaimed. “Some of us are busy people.”

Mac tensed up, the voice was angry, and it was his fault. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, beat it,” Jack said, sending daggers at the man who had upset his kid. “I won’t ask you again.”

The man had taken one look at Jack, in full papa bear mode and turned walking quickly away, Jack smiled and turned back.

“He’s gone Mac, it’s ok.”

Mac was shaking slightly, quickly picking items off the shelf and turning. “Can we go?”

“Hey, he’s gone, we can stay longer,” Jack said, hoping to calm Mac down.

Mac shook his head, putting some things in the trolley and walking towards the counter. Jack sighed and followed, paying and hurrying to the car, worried Mac was going to have a panic attack.

Mac almost had, but had calmed when they got in the car, they had come straight back to the house and he had immediately begun tinkering with his new toys.

Mac remembered that moment clearly, he’d been ashamed of his reaction when they’d got home and worried that he’d never be able to leave the house again. He had spoken to Vanessa about it the next day after he’d written about it in his journal.

“Mac, I’d like to talk about what happened at the store,” Vanessa said, once they’d talked out a few other things.

“I shouldn’t have reacted so badly,” Mac replied, almost saying he was sorry but biting his tongue before he did.

“It’s perfectly normal Mac, that man shouted, and it took you back to your father, there’s nothing to feel ashamed about. We just need to work on dealing with something like that happening again in the future.”

“I should be able to handle people shouting at me!” Mac exclaimed.

“Look, in normal circumstances I would say that was true. You’re a trained agent, capable of a lot of things, I’m sure people shouting at you is an occupational hazard. But these aren’t normal circumstances Mac. You’ve been through a terrible experience and as I’ve said before it’ll take time for things to get back to the way they were. This was the first time you’ve been out since you got back, I think that considering, you did very well.”

Mac had been listening intently throughout Vanessa’s speech, nodding a few times. He was shocked that she thought he’d done well, not quite believing it, he’d freaked out and almost had a panic attack. He said exactly that, and Vanessa had replied immediately.

“Almost Mac, you didn’t have a panic attack and even though you got scared, you left as soon as you felt the panic coming on. It could have been a lot worse if you’d have stayed, so I think it was a good first outing.”

They’d talked some more and arranged another outing for later that week, Vanessa saying that it was best to keep doing more of the things that scared him or made him nervous.

Thinking back Mac realised that the next day was their next planned outing, no one would tell him where they were going, but that it would be helpful to his recovery. He’d been curious and slightly worried, but he knew that Jack and Vanessa wouldn’t take him anywhere bad.

The team had come over the night before and Mac smiled at the memory, pleased that he hadn’t had any flashbacks or freaked out about anything. They had reminisced about some past missions, Bozer talking about some of the things him and Mac had got up to when they were kids. When the night was through everyone told Mac, they were happy that he was getting back to his old self and he was pleased. He didn’t think he was anywhere near back to normal, but he was getting there. He hoped to see everyone again, he loved Jack, but sometimes it was nice to have some other company.

Mac was by himself at that moment, Jack feeling better leaving him by himself for periods of time, he was off active missions but Matty still needed him for the occasional job. Mac was busy with one of his projects, completely engrossed trying to get it exactly right. He was so engrossed that he had forgotten that he’d put the dinner on, he wanted something ready for when Jack got home, knowing he would have had a long day.

A few minutes later and the smoke alarm started to go off, Mac jumped a mile, dropping what he was doing and rushing into the kitchen. He was breathing heavy, his heart racing, there was flames coming from the pan he’d left on the stove.

“Stupid, stupid,” Mac was repeating. He put the pan on with some oil and completely forgot about it and it was now on fire.

Panicking that the fire was going to spread Mac wasn’t thinking and immediately picked up the handle, he needed to move it away from the oven. The handle was hot but nothing he couldn’t take, his mistake was moving it, the oil immediately splashed, getting onto the work surface and his arm. Luckily, Mac didn’t drop the pan, as the oil burned his skin. He carried it to a glass board on the side, putting it down.

Jack was getting out of his car when he heard the alarm, he hurried through the front door, noticing the smoke and Mac standing in a daze.

“Mac, what happened?” Jack asked, his voice slightly raised.

Mac flinched instinctively, starting to hyperventilate. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” repeating over and over.

Jack wanted to go to Mac straightaway, but he had to take care of the fire and the alarm first, grabbing a lid he put it over the pan, immediately stopping the flames. He turned of the alarm and opened the windows, letting the smoke escape. He checked the rest of the kitchen to make sure there weren’t any other hazards, turning the oven off when he noticed it was still on.

Satisfied that they weren’t in anymore danger, he turned his attention to Mac, who had curled himself into a ball against the wall.

“Mac, it’s ok hoss, everything’s ok,” Jack said, approaching carefully. The kid was shaking, and he was still breathing heavily. “I need you to breathe buddy, come on, breathe.”

Jack was worried, he could see burns on Mac’s arm, realising that the oil must have splashed onto him when the pan was moved, he was also concerned about his mental state. He sat down next to Mac, as close as he dared.

“In and out Mac, I need ya to slow it down. Please buddy, you’re scaring me.”

Mac was back with his father, the memories overwhelming him, and he couldn’t escape. The last time there had been a fire he had been hurt, badly, he’d never seen his father so angry, and even though he knew that he wasn’t there, his body and mind wouldn’t let him think of anything else.

“I’m sorry, it was an accident,” Mac had stuttered as his father came racing into the workshop.

James was livid, dragging Mac away from the fire and pushing him to the floor, he grabbed a fire extinguisher putting it out and opening windows. When his eyes finally rested on Mac there was only anger there and Mac had been scared. He had started breathing fast, his heart racing, knowing that his punishment was going to be severe.

James hadn’t spoken, he’d walked over to Mac, grabbing his hair and pulling him up, dragging him from the room. All the while Mac cried, saying he was sorry. He was attached to the ceiling, James ripping his clothes off, until there was none left, he then started to hit him, violently.

After what seemed like hours the beating stopped and Mac had hung, his legs not holding him up, his father had walked away, coming back with a bucket and Mac knew what was coming. Freezing water had been thrown over him, he shivered, already cold. A few seconds later and he’d been blindfolded, and Mac wondered if his father was ever going to speak.

Immediately after being plunged into darkness he felt something press against his side and the electric shock was pushed into his body, he shook, gritting his teeth, knowing that he would scream eventually. He was shocked several times, all over his body, the screams coming after the fourth time. Eventually he passed out.

Mac came to and got back to his feet, his whole body was on fire and he could feel blood running down his wrists, he wondered how long he’d been hanging there. There was now material in his mouth, his father had obviously gagged him, maybe he was tired of the screaming. After a while the door opened, his father was back, Mac wondered whether he was going to hurt him some more.

“You deserved all of that and more Angus, I hope you understand that” James said, his voice harsh. “I let you in my workshop because I know how gifted you are, because of the things we could do together. You will not be allowed to enter that room by yourself again, you will only touch what I let you touch and if you destroy anything else you will never be allowed in there again.”

Mac put his head down, he knew that he’d made a mistake, but it had been an accident, he liked working in that room, it kept his mind active and now he was probably going to lose it. He wanted to apologise again but couldn’t.

“I hope you’ve learnt your lesson Angus, I’ll let you down now, but you will remain in here until tomorrow. There will be no dinner and no sleep.”

Mac started when his father said that, he knew what that meant.

He was let down and pulled over to his corner, his arms reattached to the wall, his gag was taken out so that he could drink, his father letting him have a whole bottle, it was then put back in. He urinated when told, and then a few minutes later he felt a needle in his neck. A stimulant flowing through his veins, the shivering he was feeling because of the cold got worse and he knew that it was going to be a long night.

“I’ll be back early in the morning; you will be awake when I return.”

“Please buddy, you’re scaring me.” Mac was pulled from his flashback by those words, that was Jack, he was safe.

Mac looked over at his friend, his breathing slowing down, he was still shaking, and his heart wouldn’t stop racing.

“Kiddo, you with me now?” Jack asked, glad that he had finally gotten through.

Mac nodded, “I’m sorry,” slipping out again.

“I don’t care about that now, all I care bout is you,” Jack replied, holding his arms open and hoping Mac would take the hint.

He did, throwing himself at Jack, wincing when the burns on his arm brushed against Jack’s shirt. He hid his face in Jack’s chest, tears still falling from his eyes.

Jack held him as tight as he dared, running his hand through his hair, whispering assurances in his ear. They stayed that way for a few minutes and then Jack pulled away, needing to check on any injuries he could and couldn’t see.

“Buddy I need to check you over.”

Mac sighed, he was comfortable, safe and he knew that he would soon be in pain, wishing that he could prevent it. He sat up slowly, showing Jack his arm, the burns were red and painful.

“Ok kiddo we need to run your arm under water,” Jack said, helping Mac off the floor and leading him to the sink.

Once that was done, they walked to the living room, Mac sitting on the couch. “I’m just gonna grab the first aid kit.” Jack said.

Mac’s breath hitched when Jack left the room, knowing that it was silly, but he was still shaking slightly, and he needed Jack close.

“These don’t look bad, I’ll put some Neosporin on and wrap them up. You hurt anywhere else?”

Mac shook his head, his hands were a little sore, but there was nothing Jack could do.

Jack wrapped Mac’s arm, then handed him some painkillers, grabbing some water so he would take them. Once that was done, Jack spoke.

“So, you were making dinner then?”

“I’m sorry, it was my fault, I got distracted,” Mac cried, tears falling again.

“Hey kiddo, no need to cry, it’s ok,” Jack replied, brushing the tears of Mac’s cheeks. “Accidents happen.”

“But I got distracted.”

“Yeah, and kiddo you should have been more careful, but it was still an accident. Unless you meant to cause a fire?”

Mac shook his head, of course he didn’t.

“Then don’t worry,” Jack said, wanting to talk to Mac about his panic attack. “You wanna tell me where you went, when you were on the floor?”

Mac’s breath hitched again, almost feeling the pain from the beating he’d taken. “I caused a fire at my father’s, James was pissed.”

Jack nodded, thinking that was the case, he remembered back when they were at the hospital Mac mentioning being punished for setting a fire in James’s workshop.

“This fire caused a flashback?”

“It was bad, I couldn’t get out of it,” Mac exclaimed, looking at Jack for comfort.

Jack immediately sat next to his kid and pulled him close, careful of the bandages. “You’re safe now, nothing’s gonna happen. You know you won’t get any punishment from me. Don’t you?”

“I know,” Mac said quietly, even though a part of him thought Jack would be mad.

“Ok good. I’ll fix us something quick for dinner in a bit and then I think maybe you should go to bed. You look tired kiddo.”

Mac nodded, content for that moment to stay in Jack’s arms. The flashback was still with him, he could feel the hits, the pain, the loneliness. It was worse because he hadn’t been able to sleep, every little issue had grown as the night went on and that was all Mac could think about. He felt safe with Jack, knowing nothing would happen while he was there.


	36. Chapter 36

Mac was unhappy to leave Jack and go to sleep, but he could barely keep his eyes open and he knew that he couldn’t stay awake much longer. He was soon under the covers, sleep coming straightaway. Unfortunately, the flashback of his father was still with him and it soon came back in technicolour filling his dreams.

He felt the pain of the hits, shaking in his sleep and crying out. In real life he hadn’t ever told his father to stop, that would have only brought on more punishment, but in his dreams he could do whatever he liked. He screamed at his father to stop hurting him, he screamed that he was sorry and that the fire had been an accident. The pain didn’t stop though, dream James like real James was just as angry, shocks soon coming, causing his body to spasm.

“Mac, wake up,” Jack said, racing into the room. He wasn’t sure if he should touch the kid, but he hovered close by. “MAC.”

Mac was caught, the dream like the flashback wouldn’t leave him, for some reason it seemed to be on repeat, his father would release him from his restraints and he would fall to the floor, then the pain would start all over again. Mac had started to hyperventilate in his sleep, shaking and crying.

“WAKE UP ANGUS!” Jack cried, hoping that if he used his given name it might shock him from his sleep.

It worked, Mac jumped a mile, scrambling across the bed to get away from the figure standing over him. He was still in a state, not quite understanding where he was.

“Kiddo, it’s ok, you’re safe, it’s Jack,” Jack said, repeating the words over until Mac seemed to wake up fully.

“Jack?” Mac asked, sitting up and looking at his friend.

“Yeah buddy, I’m here, you’re ok.”

“I couldn’t wake up,” Mac said, his voice so quiet.

“I know bud, but you’re awake now. Do you wanna talk about it?”

Mac looked up at Jack, not sure if he wanted to, he crawled across the bed, leaning against the headboard, he was chewing his lip, looking anywhere but at Jack.

“You don’t have to talk to me buddy, not if you don’t want to,” Jack said, seeing the kid tie himself in knots. “Shall I leave you alone?”

“NO,” Mac cried, his breathe speeding up again. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Hey kiddo, I’m not leaving,” Jack replied, walking closer. After seeing the desperation in Mac’s eyes, he got onto the bed pulling his kid into a hug. “I’ll never leave you.”

Mac snuggled against him, his hand gripping Jack’s shirt, as if he were scared if he didn’t Jack would disappear. He rested his head against Jack’s chest, listening to his heartbeat, trying to get his to match up.

Jack ran his hand up and down Mac’s arm, happy to sit in silence for a bit, only wanting to push Mac to talk if he was ready. After five minutes he spoke. “You ready to tell me about your dream?”

“James was hurting me,” Mac whispered, not wanting to make Jack angry.

Recently Mac had been more open with Jack about some of the things his father had done to him, and Jack’s reaction hadn’t always been good. He’d threatened to tear James apart, said he deserved a bullet and lots of other things that Mac didn’t want to think about. He knew that Jack wanted to protect him, and Mac had just recently started referring to his father as James, knowing that any sort of decent parent wouldn’t do half the stuff his father had done.

Mac knew that James was sick, and he’d mentioned it a couple of times to Jack and Vanessa, saying that they couldn’t possibly know what would have happened had James not had a multiple personality disorder. Although sometimes it made it worse for Mac to think about, would James have even left if he hadn’t been sick, would he have come back earlier, or even at all.

“You wanna tell me what he was doing?” Jack asked, thinking that Mac had gone back to the punishment he’d received for the accidental fire.

“You’ll be mad.”

“I’d never be mad at you, kiddo,” Jack assured him.

“Not at me, about what James did.”

Jack sighed, knowing what Mac was referring to, he had tried so hard to hold in his feelings, but when Mac had told him some of the things that had happened while he was with his father, Jack couldn’t help but get angry. He had to stop himself from doing that in front of the kid, otherwise he’d never want to tell him anything again.

“I promise I won’t bud. Go on, take your time.”

So, Mac told Jack about being stripped and the beating, he told him that he’d been soaked through and then blindfolded. He told him about the electric shocks and that he’d passed out from the pain. The whole way through Jack had stayed calm on the outside, still soothing Mac, running his hand down his arm or through his hair. Internally he was ready to find James and kill him, what he wouldn’t give for five minutes alone with that man.

“When he was done, he put me in my corner,” Mac said, not sure if he should tell Jack the rest.

“You said that usually meant the punishment was over,” Jack replied, remembering what Mac had said in the hospital.

“Usually.”

“But not this time?”

“He was really mad, said that I wasn’t allowed to sleep,” Mac paused, his breathing a little off. “He gave me a stimulant, kept me awake.”

Jack closed his eyes, thinking that it couldn’t get any worse. He was already thinking how bad it must have been for Mac to try sleeping with his hands restrained above his head, especially when he was in pain. Now to be told that he had no choice but to stay awake, not being able to escape the pain, he wasn’t sure he could take anymore.

“It wasn’t the first time,” Mac whispered, knowing that Jack knew a little of the days of torture he’d received. “But it hadn’t happened in a while.”

“Kiddo, it should never have happened.”

“I know,” Mac replied, he’d come along way, knowing that a lot of what his father did had been wrong. Still unsure about all of it, there were still times he felt he deserved what he got. “In the morning I’d started to fall asleep and James came in, he told me specifically I had to be awake.”

“What did he do?” Jack asked, holding his breath for Mac’s answer.

“He slapped me hard, shouting that he hoped I hadn’t been sleeping,” Mac replied, snuggling closer to Jack. “I thought he was going to hurt me some more. But he didn’t, let me get up and have a shower.”

“That’s good bud.”

“I don’t think I can go back to sleep,” Mac said in a small voice. “I’m scared.”

“Kiddo, you can’t stay awake, it’s not good for you. I’ll be here, you try to sleep, I’ll wake you if you start to have a nightmare.”

Mac nodded, getting comfortable, closing his eyes and drifting off knowing that Jack would keep him safe.

That was where Vanessa found them the next morning, she was going to join them for breakfast and when she’d arrived there was no sign of either of them. She walked through the house, wanting to make sure that there were no problems, opening Mac’s door to find them both asleep.

She smiled slightly but frowned, knowing that Mac wouldn’t have let Jack stay unless he’d been upset. As she was about to leave Jack opened his eyes.

“Hey doc,” he said, looking down at Mac to see if he was still asleep. “Is it that time already?”

“I’m a little early. Everything ok?” Vanessa asked, keeping her voice low.

“Bit of an incident yesterday. Mac had a pretty bad flashback, then he had a bad nightmare, we talked, and I think it helped.”

Vanessa nodded, glad that Mac had finally started sharing with other people. “What caused it?”

“A fire in the kitchen, don’t worry nothing big. He flashed back to the fire that happened in James’s workshop, had a pretty bad panic attack. He talked to me about how his father punished him, has he told you about that one yet?”

“No, not in any detail. Bad?”

“You’ve no idea, surprised the kids not permanently scarred. It took all I had not to react, but I know I need to reign that in.”

Vanessa nodded, she was aware of the way Jack reacted to some of Mac’s explanations, glad that he’d realised it himself. “I’ll start some breakfast if you like?”

“Thanks, I’ll get me, and Mac sorted, and we’ll be out soon.”

An hour later and breakfast was finished, Jack cleaning up while Vanessa talked to Mac. She didn’t want to go into any details about what had happened, knowing that Mac had spoken to Jack. But she wouldn’t be a good doctor if she didn’t check on him.

“You’ll let me know if you want to talk?” Vanessa asked, after they’d discussed things.

“I will, I feel better this morning,” Mac replied, honestly. He’d slept well after talking things through with Jack, feeling refreshed when he woke up. “Do you want to talk about anything else?”

“No, not at the minute. And we need to get going, if we’re going to make our appointment,” Vanessa responded, smiling and getting up, knowing that Mac was curious where they were going.

“Yeah bud, why don’t you go get ready,” Jack added, walking over.

“Ready for where?” Mac asked, hoping Jack might tell him.

“You’ll see,” Jack smiled, hoping that the kid was going to like the surprise.

A car ride later and they were pulling up, Mac leaning over to see where they were, he could see a couple of buildings, the signs saying what the businesses were. He was still none the wiser as to which one they were going to.

“Come on Mac don’t wanna keep them waiting,” Jack said, getting out of the car.

Mac followed Jack, shocked when they went into the building straight ahead, why would they be going in there. He looked to Vanessa who just smiled back at him. Walking up to the reception, he heard Jack speak and was soon being led through a doorway. They waited, Mac a little uncomfortable, he wished he knew what was going on. A few minutes later and a woman came through the door, carrying something in her arms. She crossed the room and put it down in front of Mac.

“Surprise kiddo, she’s all yours” Jack said.

Mac crouched down, picking up the puppy that was sitting at his feet, looking at Jack with a confused expression. “Why?”

“Why not,” Jack replied.

Mac found out later, once they’d gotten back to the house that the puppy was in fact a trauma dog, Vanessa explained that a lot of her patients needed something extra to help them with their recovery and Jack had suggested the dog. At first Mac was unsure what to think, how was a dog going to help, other than being an extremely cute distraction.

“Trauma dogs are trained to help people when they’re upset, she’ll sense your discomfort or anxiety and find a way to help you through it. Even just holding her or stroking her may help,” Vanessa explained.

Mac nodded, already feeling calm with the puppy in his lap, he smiled scratching her between the ears.

“What are you gonna call her?” Jack asked, coming into the living room.

“I’m not sure,” Mac replied, thinking it over.

“You let us know when you decide,” Jack said, sitting on the coffee table in front of the two of them. “There is another bit to this surprise.”

Mac’s head went up, what more could there possibly be.

“Vanessa thinks you’re ready to go home,” Jack started, careful in his words. “If you’re happy to, we were thinking we’d go this afternoon.”

Mac wasn’t sure what to say, he hadn’t been back to his house in a long time and he was worried how he’d react. He cuddled his new puppy close, knowing he needed to get it over with, he couldn’t stay in the safe house forever. “Ok.”

“Ok? That’s it, just ok,” Jack said, noticing the way Mac was gripping the dog tightly. “We don’t have to go today if you’re not ready.”

“I need to go. You’ll be there?”

“Course I’ll be there!” Jack exclaimed, did the kid really think he’d let him go by himself. “Vanessa too.”

Mac nodded, sitting back, he would be ok if Jack were there. He now had his new puppy too; she’d look after him. “Lola.” Explaining after confused looks. “I’m naming the puppy Lola; I think it suits her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Mac's got a puppy.   
> I've already finished this, but if anyone has any requests let me know, I may be able to squeeze them in, unless I've written them already :-)


	37. Chapter 37

Mac approached the front door of his house cautiously, holding Lola in his arms, Jack and Vanessa behind him. The door opened before he could reach for the handle, Bozer appearing in front of him.

“Mac, welcome home,” Bozer said, smiling. “Is this Lola? Wow she’s cute.”

Trust Bozer to know how to distract him, he was leading Mac inside, talking about the dog and before he knew it they were in the living room and he hadn’t even noticed.

Mac froze when they stood next to the couch, his mind going back to when he’d last been there, seeing his father sitting on the armchair. He started to breath heavily, hugging Lola tightly, not hearing anything around him, only seeing that night flash before his eyes. He was pulled from the thought by wetness on his face, Lola was licking him, whimpering, knowing that her human was upset.

“I’m ok Lola,” Mac managed to say, kissing her on the nose. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about bud,” Jack said, his arm coming around his shoulders. “This was always going to be hard the first time.”

Mac nodded, turning to look around, once that initial shock was over he was ok, he was glad to be home. He put Lola down, thinking that she’d want to explore, she shot off as soon as her feet touched the floor, sniffing everything, looking in every corner.

“She looks at home,” Bozer said, coming past Mac into the kitchen. “I’ll make a start on dinner. You gonna stay Vanessa?”

“That would be nice Bozer thank you,” Vanessa replied, wanting to stay for as long as possible, so she could make sure Mac settled ok.

“Cool, dinner for four then,” Bozer said, a smile on his face, he’d been cooking for one for a while.

“You doing ok bud?” Jack asked, watching Mac take in the house.

“Yeah,” Mac replied, walking out onto the deck. “I’ve missed this place.”

“I bet,” Jack stated. “You wanna get this fire pit going? Be nice to eat out here tonight.”

Mac nodded, getting the things they needed, he was hopeful that now he was back home things could start getting back to normal.

A few hours and lots of food later and Vanessa had left, promising to come back the next day, Bozer had gone to bed, only after telling Mac to wake him if he needed anything.

“Are you going to stay?” Mac asked, looking shyly at Jack.

“Course I am kiddo, I’m not gonna leave you on your own just yet,” Jack replied, hating the vulnerable look on Mac’s face.

Mac smiled, pleased. He felt guilty keeping Jack from his apartment, who knew the last time he’d been there, but he wasn’t quite ready to be away from him. He was slightly concerned that Jack would soon get sick of him and leave anyway, he knew he was being a burden.

“Hey kiddo, what’s wrong?” Jack asked, coming closer.

Mac realised that some tears had leaked out of his eyes and that Lola was licking his face again, Jack had obviously picked up on it. “I’m sorry I’m such a burden.”

“Hey, we’ll have none of that,” Jack exclaimed a little harshly, mad at himself when Mac flinched slightly. “I’m sorry kiddo, I shouldn’t have yelled. But you’ve gotta believe you are not and will never be a burden. Do you understand.”

“But..”

“No buts. You remember me saying that I love you and that I would always be there, I meant every word. When you love someone and that someone is family, you never think they’re a burden, you just help them and stay with them until they don’t need you anymore. Now I hope you’ll always need me, but when you’re back on your feet we can go back to how we were before, I’ll be here, if and when I’m needed again.”

Mac nodded, knowing that Jack was being truthful, he’d always been there when Mac needed him, and he didn’t think he’d stop now. “Thanks Jack.”

“No need to thank me, it’s what families do. It’s what you’d do if the roles were reversed,” Jack replied, pulling the kid to him. “Now how about we watch a movie?”

“Sounds good,” Mac replied, getting up, Lola following.

They all settled on the sofa and the movie began, Mac leaning into Jack and stroking Lola, he was safe and loved and he hoped that never stopped.

Mac woke with a start, not sure where he was, there was a weight on his lap and a strange noise coming from his right. He took some deep breaths, he wouldn’t panic. Looking down he managed to make out Lola, sleeping on his lap and the noise he realised was Jack snoring. Mac smiled, he remembered now, they’d sat down to watch a movie and must have fallen asleep. He didn’t want to disturb anyone but discovered after a minute what had woken him, he was desperate for the toilet. He carefully moved Lola and sat up, hoping he wouldn’t wake Jack, successfully getting to his feet without anyone stirring he made his way to the bathroom.

After that he decided to check out his bedroom, he hadn’t yet been in there and wasn’t sure what he’d find. If he remembered correctly he’d left it in an ok state, bed unmade and some laundry still to be done. He wondered if Bozer had even ventured inside or if it would have been too painful. He had his answer as soon as he walked through the door, the room was pristine, the bed had new sheets and the laundry basket was empty, he smiled, he’d have to thank his roommate.

Mac decided to change into something more comfortable and then go back to the sofa, he didn’t want Jack to wake up and find he wasn’t there. Unfortunately, when he decided after changing to lay on his bed, he promptly fell asleep and that’s where Jack found him hours later after a frantic search through the house.

Jack awoke slowly, his eyes adjusting to where he was quicker than Mac’s had. He noticed immediately that there was no one next to him on the sofa and he panicked, shooting up ready to call Mac’s name. He stopped himself, not wanting to wake Bozer and realising that he was probably being overly dramatic, Mac had probably gone to the bathroom. Checking to make sure Lola was still asleep, Jack made his way through the house, checking the deck first and then the main bathroom, finding nothing he headed to Mac’s bedroom, smiling when he found the kid sprawled on the bed on top of the covers.

Jack watched for a few minutes, knowing that it was creepy but not caring, he’d noticed Mac had changed, pleased that he felt comfortable going about his routine somewhere he hadn’t been for so long. Jack backed out of the room slowly, making his way to the guest bedroom, changing himself and getting into bed. He lay there for a little while thinking about what Mac had said earlier, hoping that he’d got through to the kid that he wasn’t a burden to anyone. He would have to keep an eye on him, maybe talk to Vanessa the next day. For now, it was time to sleep, who knew what time Mac would be up and Jack wanted to be refreshed and ready for anything.

Jack walked into the kitchen, hearing Mac talking to Bozer, glad that they were both up and ok.

“Thanks for tidying my room,” Mac said, sipping his cup of coffee. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel going in there.”

“It was tough Mac, I’m not gonna lie. Being here without you, not knowing where you were…” Bozer trailed off, he didn’t want to burden his friend after he’d just come home.

“I’m sorry Boze.”

“Nothing you could do about it, so there’s no need to apologise,” Bozer responded, shaking his head. “It took a little while, but I stripped the bed and did the laundry, only put fresh sheets on yesterday when I knew you were coming back.”

“I missed you Boze,” Mac said, his voice becoming unsteady.

Before they could get too emotional Jack walked in, greeting them both and sitting next to Mac.

“You sleep ok buddy?”

“Yeah, sorry about leaving you on the couch. I hope you didn’t worry.”

“Nah, no worries. I figured you’d decided to sleep somewhere proper, like a bed. I did the same,” Jack replied, hoping that Mac bought it.

Mac smiled, knowing that Jack was probably telling a white lie but leaving it. “So, any plans for today?”

“I gotta work, but I’ll be back for dinner. Maybe we could get pizza?” Bozer said, dropping his mug and dish in the sink.

“Sounds good Boze,” Mac said, then biting his lip he asked. “Maybe we could have everyone over?”

“You sure you’re ready for that?” Jack asked, sharing a look with Bozer.

Mac nodded, he wanted things to get back to normal, and having the team over for pizza would be normal. “I’m sure.”

“I’ll let everyone know,” Bozer said, making his way to the front door. “See you later.”

Jack turned to Mac once Bozer had gone. “You don’t have anything to prove you know. If you need more time the others won’t mind.”

“I just want things to start getting back to normal,” Mac replied. “I’m in a good place, or at least I think I am.”

“Yeah kiddo, you are.”

“Then I’m ready, you and Lola will be there if I need you. And it’s just the team, not like I’m inviting over strangers.”

Jack nodded, glad that Mac was feeling up to a visit, he knew that things were getting better, but that Mac still had a way to go. He’d only had a massive panic attack two days before, and there was no telling what would bring another one on. But he had Lola, who had already proven that she was good at her job and Jack would keep an eye on him. If Mac wanted to start getting back to normal, then there was no way Jack would stand in his way.


	38. Chapter 38

The next week went by quickly for Mac as he started getting into a new routine, Jack had gone back to work full time the previous day and Mac found he was ok with it. He wasn’t ready to go back himself, even though Matty had promised he would only be working in the lab.

Vanessa had dropped their sessions as well, telling Mac that he could call her at any time but that she was pleased with his progress.

Mac was going out more, usually with someone else, but he’d started taking Lola for a walk by himself and was enjoying it. He was going to start running again too, knowing that his body desperately needed it, he hadn’t had any proper exercise in a couple of months, and it was showing. He had had an appointment with Dr Fray a few days before and the doctor had been a little stern with him.

“You need to start exercising again Mac,” Dr Fray had said, after the exam was over. “You’ve started gaining weight again, but other parts of your body are suffering. Your muscles and bones are weaker, and your immune system isn’t working the way it should.”

“And that’s not good?” Mac asked, already knowing the answer.

“No, it’s not,” Dr Fray replied. “None of this is your fault Mac, you’ve been recovering, and I know you’ve been through a lot. But now I need you to start doing some form of exercise or I’m afraid things are only going to get worse.”

Mac nodded, before his father had taken him he’d been extremely active, the missions he went on, running most days, working out in the gym. Unfortunately, since that day Mac had hardly exercised at all, pacing in his room while at his fathers was probably the closest he’d got. Since he’d been back he hadn’t wanted to go out, only just recently walking longer distances.

“I’ve been walking Lola the last few days, and I thought about going for a run soon.”

“Walking is good, running is better, although you need to take it easy the first time. Your body won’t be ready for it.”

Mac nodded again. “Anything else?”

“I’d like you to take some multivitamins, until you can get your body close to what it was before I think it’s a good idea. It’ll help your bones and your immune system; I worry that getting sick right now wouldn’t be good for you.”

Mac found himself with a plan from his doctor, vitamins, extra calories and exercise. Hopefully within a couple of weeks to a month he’d be feeling a lot more like his old self. Mac knew as well that until he was fit he wouldn’t be allowed back to work. He wasn’t sure he was ready for it, but part of him wished he were able to join the team, being by himself was making him nervous.

He grabbed Lola’s lead, planning to take her for another walk, it would get him out of the house and help with the exercise. He’d promised Jack that he wouldn’t go running until the next day, Jack wanted to be there in case there were any issues.

Mac was about fifteen minutes away from home, enjoying the fresh air, knowing that Lola was happy, although he could tell she was eager to get off her lead. They would be coming up to a park soon, so she could run around, there was no way he’d let her off early. Even though she was trained, she was still a puppy and she got excited very easily.

They were rounding a corner when Mac froze, his breathing picking up, heart racing, he must be seeing things, that couldn’t be his father getting out of that car. Lola was whining, pawing at Mac’s legs, she could tell that he was upset, and she was trying to get his attention. Unfortunately, Mac’s whole mind and body were concentrated on one thing, the man approaching.

“Are you ok son?” The man asked.

Mac gasped, stepping backwards, it was his father, how did he get out of the secure hospital he was in. “Get away from me.” Mac cried.

The man put up his hands, trying to appear non-threatening. “I don’t want to hurt you; I just want to make sure you’re ok.”

Lola started growling and the man backed up. Mac turned and ran, like his life depended on it, his grip on the dog lead the only thing keeping him focussed. Soon he burst through the door to his place, locking it and hurrying to somewhere defensible. The corner of the living room was perfect, he could see the front door and the deck, no one could come in without him seeing, no one could get behind him. He pulled Lola close, his heart still racing, out of breath from the unexpected exercise.

An hour later and Mac was still curled up in the corner, afraid to move, he knew that he was being ridiculous, that man earlier hadn’t been his father and while it was a shock he shouldn’t be behaving this way. Lola was still by her human, occasionally licking his face, trying to calm him down, at least Mac had her, if he didn’t he wasn’t sure where he’d be.

There was a sound by the front door, and it opened, Mac froze, breathing picking up again, he’d locked it, he was sure he’d locked it.

“Mac, you home,” Jack called, walking through the door. Eyes wide when he saw his friend. “Mac, what happened?”

It was Jack, he must have used his key. “Jack.”

That one word said everything, and Jack understood exactly what Mac needed. He sat down next to him, pulling him and Lola towards him, running his hand through his hair.

“It’s ok, I’m here now. You’re ok.” Jack repeated the words until he felt Mac relax against him. He gave it a couple of minutes and then asked. “You wanna tell me what this is about kiddo?”

“I took Lola for a walk,” Mac started, not moving from Jack’s side. “I thought I saw James.”

“Oh, kiddo that must have been scary,” Jack replied, hoping the kid hadn’t been scared for long.

“He spoke to me, called me son. I thought it was him Jack!” Mac exclaimed, starting to cry again.

“You know it wasn’t though, right,” Jack said, holding Mac closer.

Mac nodded. “It’s stupid.”

“No, it’s not bud, it’s perfectly natural to feel scared. You haven’t seen your father in weeks, suddenly coming face to face with him, even though it wasn’t, that’s gonna freak anyone out.”

They sat there for a while, in silence while Mac calmed down. He pulled away from Jack with an apology.

“Nothing to apologise for,” Jack said, getting up and helping Mac to his feet. “Why don’t you have a shower and get into something comfy. I’ll make some hot chocolate.”

“Ok,” Mac replied, happy to change, he felt sticky after his unexpected run. Some hot chocolate sounded great too.

Ten minutes later and they were both sitting on the couch, sipping hot chocolate Lola between them.

“I shouldn’t have freaked out so much,” Mac said quietly, looking at Jack after a minute of silence.

“Why not?” Jack asked, annoyed that the kid didn’t seem to get it.

“Because it wasn’t James, and even if it was it’s been ages since he hurt me, I shouldn’t still be scared of him.”

“Kiddo, that doesn’t make any sense,” Jack responded. “One, the guy must have looked a lot like your dad to make you panic, so it doesn’t matter if it was him or not. Two, who cares how long it’s been, that man put you through hell and probably still would be if we hadn’t recused you, there’s nothing wrong with still being scared.”

Mac shrugged, still unsure. “You wouldn’t be scared.”

“You know what bud; you’re wrong, I would be. If my daddy had ever done anything like yours did, I’m not sure I would have survived it. And I’d be scared as hell that he was gonna come back.”

“Really?” Mac asked, desperate for it to be true.

“Really, so if you’ve got it in your head that you shouldn’t be scared because I wouldn’t be, then you’re wrong kiddo. And it’s ok to feel that way, no one’s gonna think any less of you.”

Mac smiled, glad that Jack thought it was ok to be scared, the truth was he was terrified that his father was gonna come back. Sometimes he dreamt that he’d never left, and the last few weeks had been a dream, he’d wake up shaking, the only thing pulling him back to reality was Lola.

She was the best thing that had happened to him, he didn’t know what would have happened if he didn’t have her, he didn’t think he’d be this far into his recovery without her. He owed her a huge treat, something to think about on his next trip to the shops. 

Him and Jack stayed on the couch until Bozer came home, to his credit he didn’t say anything, knowing that something had happened but not wanting to bring it up. Instead Boze just said that he was gonna start on dinner and he’d holler when it was ready.

The three of them spent the evening watching movies, talking about things that were happening at Phoenix, telling Mac how much he was missed. Mac smiled, knowing that they were trying to cheer him up, promising Bozer that he’d try to visit the lab in the next few days. It was a great night, Mac almost forgetting what had happened, only remembering when he saw his journal and realised that he should probably write it down.

Even though he was seeing Vanessa less often, she still wanted him to fill in his journal, it was the best way to get things off his chest and work through stuff that was bothering him. He flipped through the pages, noticing that it was getting full. He’d have to ask Vanessa in his next session if she thought he should buy a new one. To be honest he knew her response would be yes, so it was probably pointless asking, deciding instead to put it on the list next to treat for Lola.

His thoughts were interrupted by Jack poking his head in the door. “I’m gonna sleep in the guest room tonight bud. You come get me if you need me.”

“Thanks Jack,” Mac replied, smiling shyly.

Jack would always be there no matter what and so would Bozer. Mac had a good life, and he was thinking that from now on things could only get better. Closing his journal, he got ready for bed, hoping that tonight there would be no nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost at the end :-(


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to upload the last chapter tonight as it's a short one. It may not end the way you were hoping.

Three months later and Mac was pretty much back to normal, he was back at Phoenix, working in the lab on a part time basis, helping the team from the war room when he could. Both he and Matty decided it was too soon to send him on assignment, although if he thought about it, he knew he’d be ready soon.

Everyone was happy to have him back, most of them knowing what he’d been through, thankfully not bringing it up when they talked about how he was. Mac was better at talking about what had happened to him, he still saw Vanessa a couple of times a month and was sharing a lot more. He wasn’t getting as many nightmares and Jack had stopped staying over as much, going back to normal and only staying when they’d stayed up late and it was pointless going home.

He was even talking to Vanessa about going to see his father, she thought that it would be good for him to have some closure. The man was in a secure hospital, while there was no cure for a dissociative disorder they were helping him with medications and therapy. Mac hadn’t decided if it was a good idea to visit James, he was still scared of the man and didn’t want seeing him to push back all his hard work.

It was now Friday and Mac was looking forward to a weekend with the team, unless there was a last minute assignment Matty had agreed for everyone to have three days off, they were going to go camping and it would be the first time Mac had gone for at least six months. He had an appointment that afternoon at the bank and was going to meet the others back at his later to discuss strategies.

Mac was so happy driving home from the bank that he didn’t notice the car following him, didn’t notice that it took all the same turns as him, stopped at all the same lights. He only discovered something was wrong when a block from his house the car rammed into him from behind, his face slamming into the steering wheel from the impact.

He was in a daze when his door was wrenched open and he was pulled out, he wasn’t sure what was happening, but it wasn’t good. He started to struggle, kicking out as he was dragged along the ground and pushed against something solid. A fist to his face caused his head to slam into something and he soon lost consciousness, never knowing who it was that had run into him.

Three hours later Matty was pacing the war room, phone in her hand, the sound of ringing and then a voicemail message.

“Matty what’s going on?” Jack said, coming in behind her. The text had said war room ASAP.

“Where’s Mac?” Matty asked, putting down the phone.

“He had an appointment at the bank, but he should be home by now,” Jack replied, not liking the look on his boss’s face. “Why?”

“Because as of this morning James MacGyver is free, he escaped from the hospital at 0500 and for some reason that information hasn’t gotten to me until now!” Matty exclaimed. “I’ve been trying Mac, but all I get is his voicemail.”

“I’m sure he’s fine Matty,” Jack said, getting out his own phone.

“Dalton, they emailed me a photo of a note that James left.”

She clicked a button and the photo came up on the big screen.

ANGUS IS MINE AND I WILL GET HIM BACK

Jack swore, running from the room, if that bastard had laid one hand on his kids head he wouldn’t be alive to regret it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry if people weren't expecting this. Hope everyone wants to keep reading and find out if Mac survives his father for a second time. I've already written ten chapters so will start posting soon.


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the first chapter of the sequel, decided as there was 40 on here and I only managed 39 I'd give you guys a sneak peek. I'll try my best to not leave it too long before I update again, I like to be half way through if I can before posting, just in case that pesky real life keeps me busy.   
> Enjoy.

Mac awoke to a pain in his head, it felt like someone was drilling into his skull and he wanted it to stop. He reluctantly prized his eyes open, wondering if he was at home. As soon as his eyes started to focus he wished he’d kept them closed. His father was sitting in front of him.

Mac gasped, immediately trying to shy away, finding that impossible when he looked down, seeing that he was tied to a chair.

“It’s good to have you back Angus,” his father said, as if they’re parted ways amicably.

“My name is Mac,” Mac replied, gritting his teeth when his movement aggravated his head injury.

“No, the name your mother and I gave you is Angus. Mac is something you made up.”

“It’s what I prefer.”

“Do I look like I care?” James replied, getting up and pacing the room. “Just as stubborn as always Angus, pity you couldn’t have stayed compliant, now we’ll just have to start over.”

Mac swallowed, trying to control his nausea, he was sure he had a concussion and his father was making it ten times worse.

“What do you want?” Mac asked, slowly.

“You Angus,” James replied. “I thought that was obvious, you belong to me and I won’t have you claimed by someone else.”

“I don’t belong to anybody,” Mac cried, wishing he hadn’t when his headache went up a notch.

“Once again you’re wrong. I gave you life, looked after you. I taught you things, things that you couldn’t be without, that means you belong to me.”

Mac closed his eyes, his father was crazy, not that he didn’t already know this, it seemed he’d gotten even crazier than the last time. Mac just needed to hold on until Jack got there, the team would know he was missing soon and come and find him.

“I had to hurry while finding this place, so everything’s still a work in progress,” James said coming back to the chair. “I need you to stay here for a little while, until I can get your room set up. I doubt you can get out of those ropes, but just in case I’ve set up a sensor. You move from that chair and I’ll know about it.”

Mac sighed as James left, he wondered where he’d been taken to this time. He looked around the room, it was literally a bare square room, with two chairs, there was a window, but it had been boarded up. He looked down at his restraints, his wrists and ankles were tied to the chair with thick rope, it was tight, and Mac knew he couldn’t get out of it. He was also still dizzy and nauseous from the concussion, so he closed his eyes to wait. He’d either wait for rescue or escape when he was feeling better.

Unfortunately, Mac only seemed to feel worse when he awoke again, he was still in the same room, still tied to the same chair, he breathed slowly trying to stop himself from being sick. His head was pounding, and he would kill for some painkillers, he highly doubted he would be provided any, but it was worth an ask when his father returned. Mac knew that he was useless while he was feeling that way.

Mac sighed again, tears in his eyes, he was feeling overwhelmed, he couldn’t believe this was happening again. James had taken him, tied him up and hurt him and planned to do god knows what to him. If his speech earlier were anything to go by, Mac knew that he was going to be broken again and he didn’t know if he’d be able to come back this time. His only hope was rescue, maybe James had been so quick this time that he left a trail. He had said that he’d had to hurry finding the place, perhaps Riley would work her magic and the team were already on their way.

He had to stay strong, he wouldn’t let his father win this time. Mac was determined to fight back with all he had, deep down knowing that it hadn’t worked out so well last time, so maybe it would just be easier giving up straightaway. James wasn’t stupid though, he would know that it was an act, he was probably expecting Mac to fight. So that was what Mac would do.

An hour or so later the door opened, and James walked in, coming straight over to Mac and starting to untie his ankles.

“You will behave while we walk to your new accommodations, if not I will hurt you,” James said, pausing to look up at his son. “I know you already have a concussion; it would be a shame to add anything else before the day is through.”

Mac gritted his teeth, knowing that James was right, he wanted so badly to kick out and tackle his father when he was released, but he didn’t even know if he’d be able to stand let alone fight. If he tried it he knew his father would follow through on his threat, if he behaved he might have an opportunity later, when he was feeling better.

The ropes were untied, and James gripped his upper arm, Mac shivered, it was such a familiar feeling. He was pulled up and his wrists tied behind his back, Mac couldn’t stop the gasp as he felt himself be restrained.

“Good boy Angus, maybe there’s hope for you yet,” James said, leading him from the room.

They walked through a hallway and out of a door leading to the outside, Mac looking around seeing nothing, there were fields and trees but not much else. James led him to what looked like a barn, it seemed they were on a farm.

“No,” Mac said, digging in his feet when he saw where they were headed.

“I don’t think I gave you a choice Angus,” James said, dragging his son while he struggled.

Mac’s eyes were wide, his breathing speeding up, he wouldn’t go in there, he began struggling more, hoping to break his fathers hold and run. He was soon stopped by a shock to the system, James had pulled out a taser and placed it in his son’s side. Mac’s legs turned to jelly, and he was helpless as he was pushed into the cage, the metal door clanging behind him.

“You will remain in here, I need time to come up with a plan and don’t need any distractions from you,” James said, locking the door. “There is a chemical toilet for you to use and I will bring you food as and when I can, put your hands through here and I’ll untie your wrists.”

Mac was in shock, the cage looked like something you’d keep animals in, perhaps birds, there was a toilet in one corner and a blanket in another, his father was referring to a hole cut in the metal, not large enough to be of any use. He did as he was told, otherwise James would only leave him how he was and then stepped back rubbing his wrists.

“You can’t keep me in here,” Mac said, horrified.

“I can and I will,” James responded. “I’ll be back with some food and painkillers later.”

With that his father walked off, pulling the barn door closed. The place was quite large and there were a few windows, so Mac wasn’t in the dark, he used the toilet and then sat huddled in the corner, pulling the blanket around him. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he cried, what he wouldn’t give for Lola, she would soon be licking his face, crawling into his lap for him to stroke. Or Jack, he’d pull him close and run his fingers through his hair, speaking quietly until he calmed down. He wanted them both and he didn’t know how long he could hold out.

Across town and Jack was pacing, he couldn’t believe this was happening, not again. He’d immediately raced from the room after Matty had given him the news, trying Mac again and again, his phone just going to voicemail. He headed to his house, praying that he was there, and his phone was just off, already knowing before he arrived that it wouldn’t be. The house was empty, Bozer was still in the lab none the wiser and there wasn’t a sign that Mac had even been home. The jeep was gone so Jack called Riley, she needed to track it and Mac’s phone, straightaway, he hadn’t even given her an explanation. Told her to head to the war room and that Matty would fill her in. That was two hours earlier, Jack was currently pacing while Riley worked her magic.

“Come on Ri, I need something,” Jack said, hating that he was putting so much pressure on her.

“I know Jack, I’m doing my best. I’ve got my surveillance programme running and I’m searching manually to find whatever car James might be driving. There’s not a lot else I can do,” Riley replied, upset that she couldn’t find anything.

They’d found Mac’s jeep, it had been run off the road, minor damage to the front and back of the car, a small amount of blood in the front seat. Mac’s phone and wallet were in the glove compartment. There had been no cameras in the area, which was no surprise, they knew James would avoid them if he could.

Cage and Matty were currently at the hospital James had escaped from, trying to find any information that they could, anything he might have left behind that might lead them to his whereabouts.

Bozer was picking up Lola from the dog sitters, they all could do with her presence and he was going to bring her back to the Phoenix. He was as horrified as the rest of them that James had come back, he hadn’t talked about it, but his face said it all.

Jack was sick, he knew that Mac was stronger, but there was no way that he could be around his father and be ok afterwards. He was wishing that he’d ignored everyone and put a bullet in the man’s head, if he were dead then none of this would be happening. He turned as the door opened, immediately crouching down when a ball of fur headed his way. He picked up the dog and held her tight, she was the closet he could be to Mac and he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight.

“We’ll find him girl, that’s a promise.”


End file.
